


Strangers In Paradise

by MarvelMaster616



Category: DCU (Comics), Justice League - All Media Types, Superman - All Media Types, Wonder Woman - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-25
Updated: 2016-01-30
Packaged: 2018-05-16 05:06:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 270,852
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5815387
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MarvelMaster616/pseuds/MarvelMaster616
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In their youth, Clark Kent and Princess Diana met when Clark was shipwrecked on Themyscira. This accident of fate would come to have a profound impact on their lives and their hearts, disrupting the traditions of the Amazons and the order of the gods. Years later, as greater forces conspire against them, can they come together or will fate tear them apart?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Shipwrecked

**Strangers In Paradise**  
**Chapter 1: Shipwrecked**

* * *

**AN: This is the first major DC Comics story that I’ve ever written. I’ve always had an affinity for certain DC characters, but I’ve never been inspired to write stories about them the way I have with Marvel. Thanks to new developments like the New 52, I feel like I have a story worth telling here. It involves one of my favorite comic book pairings of all time, Superman/Wonder Woman. It’s a pairing I never thought would happen in the comics because of Superman’s history with Lois Lane. But thanks to the New 52, it finally did and the depth of this relationship can finally be explored. This story takes that relationship and develops it in a new way that I hope others will enjoy.**

**In addition, I would like to thank my good friend, Agent-G, for helping me develop this story. I couldn’t have done it without him.**

**_‘This means character thoughts or psychic communication’_ **

**Disclaimer: I don’t own Superman, Wonder Woman, or the Justice League. They are the property of DC Comics and Warner Brothers. Please don’t sue.**

**As always, I encourage everyone to take the time to review the story and provide feedback. Send me your comments via email at** [**marvelmaster616@hotmail.com**](mailto:marvelmaster616@hotmail.com) **or post a review on the fanfiction website. Thank you and enjoy the story.**

* * *

**Themyscira – One Year Ago**

The heart of every Amazon burned with a passion for war and a love for their homeland. Blessed by the gods, granted immortality, and endowed with great strength, they stand as an embodiment of feminine strength and warrior pride. As such, they defend and do the will of the gods. For centuries, they’ve fought to preserve the fragile balance between the realm of the gods and the realm of men.

However, they do not interact with men, nor do they associate with man’s world. They reject the corrupt, patriarchal order that men have used to subjugate women for centuries. Once, the Amazons were victims of that corrupt order. Hercules, the illegitimate son of Zeus, sought the heart of Hippolyta, queen of an obscure tribe of warrior women. For a time, there was love and passion between them. They even entertained thoughts of merging her army with his, creating a band of great warriors. But when Hippolyta refused his demands to be submissive rather than an equal, she rejected him.

In doing so, Hercules became enraged and sought revenge. He assembled his army and attacked them in broad daylight. They were victorious, taking the surviving women and binding them with ropes and shackles. Hercules then demanded that Hippolyta accept his hand in marriage and that her fellow Amazons join his army in subjugation. True to her Amazon code, she refused submission.

As punishment for her refusal, Hercules had his men rape Hippolyta’s Amazon sisters. For three days and nights, they were ravaged. Hercules made her watch every moment of it, forcing Hippolyta to listen to their cries and witness their torment. He then gave her another opportunity to accept his proposal. Again, she refused to submit. Hercules then bound her with shackles and raped her. His fellow men, having ravaged her sisters, forced them all to watch their queen’s humiliation. But this indignation was still not enough. They continued to refuse, preferring death over subjugation. Yet Hercules and his men denied them even that, allowing every one of them to live after their torment was complete.

While she and her sisters lay naked and defeated at the hands of Hercules, Hippolyta made a desperate prayer to Hera and the gods of Olympus. Her prayer was answered. In exchange for their pledge to serve the gods, they were granted the strength and resilience to ensure that they would never be victims of male dominance again. Hera granted them dominion of Themyscira, also known as Paradise Island. This island was blessed with eternal abundance and shrouded in a mystical cloak. The island acts as both a home and a battleground, one where the presence of mortal men is forbidden and where the will of the gods and Queen Hippolyta is law.

Over the centuries, these laws have been dutifully upheld. In that time, there have been a few Amazons that have disobeyed. Their punishment is swift yet merciful. They face exile from Themyscira and are stripped of their immortality, doomed to die of old age. At times, this has required Amazons to bear children to maintain their numbers. While this is rare, it is tightly controlled by the gods. They seek a suitable man, they choose the Amazon that will bear the child, and they allow the Amazon to seduce the man. Once they have coitus, the memory of the encounter is erased from the man and the Amazon returns to Paradise Island where the gods ensure that the child is a girl and is raised in the ways of the Amazons.

These ways represented everything the Amazons were and what they strived to be. And these were the ways and values that Diana, daughter of Hippolyta and Princess of the Amazons, had been brought up to defend. Her very birth had been considered a miracle, another answered prayer by the gods when Hippolyta begged for a chance to be a mother. She seemed destined to be the best the Amazons had to offer. Yet at times, she seemed to question that destiny.

“Tell me again, mother. Why don’t we explore man’s world? Why must the Amazons fight only the battles ordained by Olympus?” asked the 16-year-old princess as she stood with Hippolyta on a hill overlooking the shore.

“You already know the answers to these questions, Diana. You’ve been given these answers in many forms on many occasions,” answered Hippolyta.

“I know every word of these answers. But every time I hear them, I find them less satisfying. I know of the crimes perpetrated by Hercules and his men on our sister. I’ve been told of the suffering and subjugation that millions of women endure.”

“Then why do you insist on belaboring this question? Why does it bother you so?”

“Because it seems _incomplete_ ,” said Diana as she gazed distantly into the setting sun. “I don’t know why, but I feel it in my heart. And one of the first lessons every Amazon learns is to fight from the heart and let it power the will.”

“Nobody would ever question your heart,” said Hippolyta, “But do not mistake the heart and the brain. You’ll only confuse yourself with flawed thoughts.”

“Funny, all of my sisters say the same thing, often with those exact words. I used to think it was just because I was a young girl on an island where there are so few. But as the years pass, I get the sense that they are the ones with flawed thoughts.”

The Amazonian princess, and the light of Hippolyta’s life, gazed out over the shores with a glint of wonder in her eyes. It was a dangerous look because it saw the world beyond this island in such a different light. Diana had always been a curious, adventurous child in addition to being a proud warrior. Her spirit could not be contained by this island. Being the queen’s daughter and somewhat of an anomaly, a child born on an island of immortal women, she often ran off to be alone. She usually found her way to this very spot, a picturesque hill that overlooked the beach on the southernmost portion of Paradise Island. It was so beautiful, especially at sunset. But its beauty only encouraged these dangerous thoughts.

As Diana tried to admire this beauty, Hippolyta mother placed her hand on her shoulder and pulled her into a light embrace. It didn’t quell Diana’s wonder. She kept looking out over the sea, hoping to see the world beyond. Hippolyta knew that world. She still bore the scars it left on her. She promised the day she held her infant daughter in her arms that Diana would never endure such torment. She just never imagined that keeping such a promise would be this difficult.

“Diana, we are warriors in service to the gods. This island, these ways, and the questions you continue to ask – they are a product of battles fought long ago,” said Hippolyta, speaking as both a queen and a mother now. “For many of our sisters, myself included, the scars of those battles have not healed. Many cannot be healed, no matter how many seasons pass.”

“I know all about the atrocities you and our sisters endured, mother. They were horrific. I do not doubt that for a second,” said Diana, who always grew uncomfortable when this subject came up.

“Those atrocities were a direct product of the world beyond these shores…a world that is dark and corrupt, especially to women. We chose long ago to rid ourselves of such corruption and the gods granted us this gift.”

“You’re still telling me things I’ve heard many times before, mother. If this world is so dark and corrupt, why don’t we do anything about it?” asked Diana intently.

“Because the world of man is too complicated,” replied Hippolyta. “It is not as simple as killing a harpy or slaying a titan. There are so many corrupt men in power who seek only to propagate their corruption.”

“And what of the men who aren’t in power? Are they as guilty as Hercules and his army?”

“That is irrelevant.”

“But why?” asked Diana, still as confused as before. “I hear other sisters talking about how the world has changed since the days of Hercules. Is it not possible that this same corrupt order, and the men within it, have also changed?”

“That is still irrelevant,” said Hippolyta with growing frustration.

Diana now shared her mother’s frustration, but for very different reasons. It sounded like her mother was just making excuses. She said these words with such conviction, but within her tone she could still sense the scars left upon her by men like Hercules. These scars had obscured her understanding and that of all her sisters. Her kept telling her there was a greater truth to be sought, yet her mother and her loving grasp kept dissuading her from that truth.

“I still don’t understand why,” said Diana, shaking her head and hugging her shoulders. “You say man’s world is still corrupt. Yet here we are, warriors blessed by the gods. How can we live here on this paradise while others suffer?”

“It is not our place to fight those battles, Diana. You know this. We have enough battles to fight here at the behest of the gods.”

“Battles that only succeed in preserving the way things are,” retorted Diana. “Have you never even contemplated fighting for something greater?”

“Of course, I have. But that is not for us to decide,” said Hippolyta.

“So says the queen of the Amazons?”

“No…so says your mother, who only happens to be Queen of the Amazons.”

She spoke with a tone in her voice that silenced Diana, knowing that there was nothing left to argue. The Amazonian princess held her head low with her mother’s affectionate hand still on her shoulder. She never doubted her love or her dedication as a mother. Questioning her and the ways she had been brought up to champion proved strenuous in a way that even the greatest warrior could not bear.

They remained silent, watching together as mother and daughter, admiring the sun as it set over Paradise Island once more. The beauty of this scene that should have drawn them together only widened the distance between them. Diana could only accept it in her innocent youth while her mother remained dedicated to the ways of the past. At least for now, there was no hope for change. The world of men and the world of the gods seemed doomed to remain forever separate.

* * *

**Mediterranean Sea - One Year Later**

“Mayday! Mayday! This is Captain Grant of the SS Cato! We are under siege by pirates! I repeat, we are under siege by pirates!”

Clark heard this desperate call from the main deck of a massive cargo ship that had been sailing the Mediterranean for nearly three days now. He might have been the only one not panicking. In fact, he was surprised that this didn’t happen sooner. The whole reason he decided to take a job as a low-wage ship hand was to be on a ship when it got attacked by these pirates. Now he had his chance and neither the pirates nor the crew would know what hit them.

The captain of the ship stormed out from the deck, followed by several private security contractors that were hired at a grossly inflated price to combat these pirates. These contractors were each armed with gear similar to SWAT teams, including body armor and an M-16 assault rifle. In addition, they provided assault rifles to every sailor on the ship, even if they had never held a gun in their life. As sailors responded to the alarm that now blared all over the ship, they came pouring into the officer and crew quarters just outside the main deck. They were all so nervous and the first thing the contractors did when they arrived was shove a rifle into their hands. It did little to set their minds at ease.

“I uh…I’m not sure how to shoot one of these,” said one of the sailors as he fumbled with the gun somewhat.

“It’s not that hard. Just aim and shoot!” barked one of the contractors.

“And don’t bother with warning shots either,” said the Captain. “These aren’t the kind of pirates looking to boost DVDs and smart phones. They call themselves the Red Horizon and they’re much more _ambitious_.”

“Ambitious how?” asked one of the other sailors anxiously.

“A friend of mine had his ship jacked by these bastards earlier this year. They didn’t just make off with enough loot to fund their own fleet of private jets. They left half the crew dead, maimed, or worse.”

Now the sailors were even more nervous. Some were practically trembling, now clinging to their assault rifles and praying to every god they could. Only the captain and the contractors seemed eager to confront these pirates. They had no idea how overmatched they were and Clark had no intention of having them find out.

“Hey greenhorn! Stop hauling boxes and grab a rifle! It’s about to get ugly out there,” yelled the Captain as he grabbed as many clips of ammo as he could carry.

“That’s okay. I’ll take my chances,” said Clark, who didn’t even make eye-contact with him or any of the other sailors.

“You must have a hell of a death wish kid. These ain’t no Jack Sparrows we’re dealing with here. They’re the kind of guys that eat greenhorns like you as a light snack!”

“Quit trying to scare me, Captain. I’ll fight if I have to, but on my own terms.”

The Captain just shook his head, not bothering to argue with a greenhorn who he just hired a few days ago at the docks. That was just fine with Clark. He didn’t need them paying more attention to him than they already had. As far as the Captain was concerned, he was just some runaway drifter who was looking for a steady job and a few square meals at a port in Baltimore a week ago. He got hired on the spot because experienced sailors were in short supply. Stories about pirates attacking ships around the coast of Africa and the Mediterranean had been all over the news in recent months, discouraging anyone from taking a job on any ship larger than a fishing boat. For Clark, it was the perfect opportunity.

He had been keeping up with these pirate attacks for a while now. They had been ransacking cargo ships, killing dozens of innocent men and preventing countless tons of goods from reaching their destination. The last ship the SS Red Horizon hit contained food and medical supplies for several impoverished nations in Africa that desperately needed it. Thousands died as a result, putting these pirates at the top of Superman’s hit-list.

As soon as the SS Cato left Baltimore, Clark kept as low a profile as possible. Clark spent most of his time carrying out the menial jobs of an underpaid greenhorn, which involved moving around heavy crates, doing inventories, and cleaning the bathrooms. He almost always wore a hat and a jacket, making sure he would be as forgettable as possible to the crew. But when he wasn’t working, he kept to himself, waiting for another opportunity to be Superman. After biding his time for days, he finally had his chance.

“Time to test out Superman’s sea legs,” said Clark.

While sailors and contractors made their way to the bow of the ship, he slipped away into a nearby storage closet. Once inside, he removed his jacket and hat, revealing his blue shirt with the distinct red S. He also donned his red cape, which he kept tucked behind his shirt. The only thing he didn’t change were his jeans and boots, which he modified to endure the kind of punishment that Superman often encountered. He had plans to create a more complete suit, but there was only so much style a 21-year-old like him could afford at the moment. He was still very new to being Superman, but he was learning quickly.

Shortly after he stepped out of the closet, he heard a few loud bangs with his super-hearing. He also felt the ship rock slightly. Something just hit the side of the ship and hit it hard. It was probably something the contractors hadn’t equipped themselves for. With the alarm still blaring, Superman used his super-speed to ascend a few flights of stairs near the main deck. He then punched his way through a locked compartment and jumped up to the roof of the deck, which was the highest point on the ship. This gave him an unobstructed view of the incoming threat.

“Whoa…and they thought I had a death wish,” said Superman.

The pirates certainly didn’t look like pirates in that they didn’t have bears, eye-patches, or peg legs. They were all dressed in these full black body suits with orange masks. Judging by the bulk of the suits, they were heavily armored and probably pretty resilient to the assault rifles the contractors wielded. In addition to their armor, they had some pretty powerful weapons of their own that looked much more advanced than an M-16 or any rifle a legitimate contractor would wield.

_‘Okay Clark, this is what you wanted. You thought you were ready to take on pirates, but are you ready to take on these guys? No pirate I’ve ever heard of packs a Lexcorp MI-62 assault prototype. Those things are like miniature rail-guns, capable of shooting a peanut through a brick wall. There’s no way the Captain and his men can defend himself against that.’_

Using his telescopic vision, he saw the Captain and his men running right into a trap. They had no idea just how overmatched they were. They all made their way to the starboard side of the ship where the pirates were approaching on what looked like modified speedboats. Then the ship was hit with another hard jolt. That’s when Clark noticed something else in the distance.

_‘That must be the SS Red Horizon. No self-respecting ship has a paint job that bad. And if this morning fog isn’t playing tricks on me, that’s another rail gun mounted on the bow. Can’t tell if it’s another Lexcorp prototype that magically disappeared, but it’s packing the kind of firepower that could sink this ship in one shot. This is going to take more muscle than I thought.’_

He held onto a nearby support beam to keep until the ship stopped rocking. He then made his way closer to the starboard side of the ship so that he was in a position to strike. By then, the Captain and the contractors had reached the area. They all had their guns ready and were prepared to defend their ship, taking cover behind anything they could. The contractors stood near the front lines while the nervous sailors stayed further back, nervously waiting for the first shot to be fired.

“No matter what happens, don’t let these overgrown piles of whale shit set foot on this ship!” ordered the Captain.

“According to our contract, we get a bonus for every dead pirate. I don’t know about you guys, but I’m ready for a big payday!” said one of the contractors.

“Any chance we’ll see any of that bonus?” said one of the sailors.

“Fat chance,” scoffed another.

The next few moments were tense. It was hard to see over the edge of the ship. A light fog along with a thick overcast had blanketed this area of the Mediterranean for two days now. They were expecting the pirates to scale the ship with grappling hooks and ladders. But Superman could already see that they were in for a rude awakening.

As soon as the pirates on the ships were close enough, he saw one of the masked pirates give the thumbs up to two dozen other pirates. They all nodded and then activated something in their suits that allowed them to scale the ship without the aid of any rope.

“Jet packs…figures,” said Superman.

When the two dozen pirates ascended into the foggy skies, they took everyone by surprise. They didn’t even get a chance to shoot their guns. Some of the sailors even dropped their rifles upon learning how under-equipped they were.

_“Attention! We have a message to deliver, courtesy of the SS Red Horizon,”_ said one of the pirates through a speaker in his mask.

As soon as the pirates settled into a steady hover, they each aimed their weapons towards the deck. But instead of firing bullets, they fired a lone grenade from a compartment on the weapon. When they hit, they erupted in a loud burst that unleashed a thick cloud of noxious smoke over the area. This cloud of smoke quickly grew, taking up a sizable portion of the starboard side of the ship and incapacitating every sailor and contractor it encountered.

“Fall back!” yelled the Captain.

“Aagh! Shoot them!” urged one of the contractors.

But only a few shots rang out. None of them hit the pirates of the SS Red Horizon. The smoke obscured their vision and burned their lungs, forcing everyone to retreat. They were now easy prey for the pirates, who already had their rifles pointed at the fleeing sailors.

_“This ship is now under our control,”_ the pirate from before announced. _“We have a rather long shopping list and our captain is rather impatient. So if you wish to see dry land again, do as we say. Or don’t. We could use the target practice.”_

Superman had seen enough. He knew their tactics. Once they scattered the crew, they took out anyone with a gun and any ranking officer. Those foolish enough to fight back would be shot while those foolish enough to surrender would be taken captive and held hostage. They were ruthless, even by pirate standards, so Superman skipped the part where he gave them a warning.

_‘These guys don’t mess around. I need to take care of this quickly and cleanly. That means timing this just right.’_

He jumped down from the roof of the deck, landing on top of a large metal crate that overlooked the starboard side of the ship. While the sailors and contractors fled, he waited for the pirates to land. But before their feet could touch the ship deck, he took a deep breath and unleashed a blistering gust of wind with his super breath.

It hit the pirates with the force of a hurricane while blowing away the smoke, allowing the crew to breathe and get away. It caught both crews completely by surprise and it didn’t take long for some to trace the source.

“Whoa. Who the hell is that?” gasped the Captain.

“Don’t know, but he’s not on our payroll so he’s not getting the bonus,” said one of the contractors.

While most ran away, some lingered behind. After he finished his attack, he turned towards the captain.

“Get back to the main deck and secure every access point! Get this ship moving again and contact the nearest port,” he told him. “I’ll take care of these clowns.”

“You sure you can take all of them?” asked one of the contractors.

“Positive,” said Superman confidently.

That was good enough for the captain and everyone else that wanted to get out of this in one piece. The ship’s crew couldn’t get away fast enough, just as Superman had hoped. The air now clear, Superman jumped down to another stack of crates, using his powerful leg strength to get him closer to the edge of the ship.

As he looked down at the choppy waters below, he saw that most of the pirates ended up in the water. Their jet packs had either failed or they couldn’t regain control. The two boats that had brought them to the ship were already pulling away. They already knew something had gone horribly wrong and attempted to retrieve the downed pirates. However, a few pirates had managed to escape his initial attack and were able to reorient themselves for another attack.

“Looks like these ships are hiring freaks now for protection,” said the pirate that initially announced their presence to the crew. “We must be _that_ good.”

“After a stunt like that, you still think we can board the ship?” asked another who hovered right next to him.

“Hell no! We’ll just have to do this the hard way,” he replied. “If you’re not swimming in saltwater, shoot the kid in the blue shirt! I’m going to radio the ship and order in the knock-out punch.”

At least six remaining pirates flew in lower, using their jet packs to make themselves moving targets as they took aim at Superman. They unleashed a hail of bullets on him. As he suspected, these were the kinds of bullets that flew faster and hit harder than most. While they would have gone right through the body armor of the crew and contractors, they did little more than scratch Superman.

He put his arms up to block the initial wave of bullets, keeping his eye on what he assumed to be the field leader. He could already hear him making a call to the ship out in the distance. Preferring not to find out what he was requesting, he had to make quick work of these pirates.

“So you guys like punching people you know can’t hit back?” said Superman, “Then I think you’ll appreciate _this_!”

Using his powerful legs again, Superman jumped up into the foggy skies and struck two of the pirates as they flew by. He made sure he hit them right in the back, disabling their jet packs and sending them crashing into the choppy waters below. Two more tried to fly in and hit him as he fell back to the ship. He made sure they didn’t even get a shot off, using his heat vision to disable the guns and damage their jet packs.

By the time he landed back on the ship, the two other pirates were trying to get higher. However, they didn’t get high enough. Superman landed on top of another crate and with more leg power this time, he jumped up to catch them both. He ended up knocking their weapons out of their hands and grabbing them by their necks. Were they not wearing masks, they would probably be pretty horrified.

“Stick to fishing, guys. People have enough reason to get seasick without pirates like you running around,” warned Superman.

He reinforced his message by slamming their head together in a way that left the moderately concussed and unable to cause any further trouble, at least for today. He then threw them back down into the water where they could be picked up by the others. However, there was still the issue of their field leader. He had to move fast before he could get his message to the other ship.

“Yes, you heard me correctly! I said fire the rail gun at full power! Sink the whole damn ship!” he barked.

“Oh no you don’t!” said Superman.

Using his heat vision again, he fired at the field leader, who was still hovering a few hundred feet away from the ship. He managed to hit the communicator on his wrist, which left him fairly burned.

“Argh! My arm!” exclaimed the field leader, now clutching his wrist in pain.

“And just to be extra cautious, I think you should take a dip with your friends.”

Superman then jumped up to another shipping container that was stacked higher and used his super breath again the send the now wounded pirate tumbling into the water. Now the entire crew of the SS Red Horizon, as they called themselves, were at the mercy of the choppy waters below. Most of them weren’t wounded, except for their pride. He initially intended to grab some cargo nets and wheel these thugs in so that the authorities could deal with them. But when he used his super vision to check on the SS Red Horizon, he saw that the situation had become much more volatile.

_‘Damn! That rail gun is already loaded and charging up. I now get to put my A-plus in AP Physics to good use and crunching some numbers in my head. I don’t need to finish the calculations. I already know that at those power levels, this ship doesn’t stand a chance and neither does its crew. I need to disable it. That means throwing a different kind of physics into the mix.’_

With only moments to act, Superman clenched his fists and prepared his legs for one more jump. He crunched more numbers in his head, calculating the amount of force he would need to get to the SS Red Horizon and the amount of force he would need to deliver in order to thwart their attack. This promised to test his strength in a major way. Ever since he donned his cape and left his life in Smallville behind, he had been testing himself. So far, he had risen to the challenge every time and he didn’t intend for this to be any different.

“Here goes,” said the Man of Steel intently. “It’s times like this I wish I could fly.”

With his knees bent and his feet planted firmly on top of the shipping container, Superman launched himself up into the foggy skies and towards the SS Red Horizon. He saw the pirates still swimming around in the water looking up at him in shock. He even saw other pirates on the deck of the SS Red Horizon watching as he descended towards their ship on a direct collision course with their rail gun. They must have some proficiency in physics as well because they began running as soon as he came into view.

“We’ve got incoming!” yelled one of the pirates.

“Shut down the gun! Shut it down now!” yelled another.

But it was too late. The massive rail gun, which was the size of a small building, was already glowing around the base. He could hear the hum of the immense energy building up, triggering sparks around the barrel. From the looks of it, they had overloaded it. That would only ensure that stopping this blast would be extra destructive.

_‘This is going to hurt me as much as it’s going to hurt them…hopefully.’_

As Superman closed in on the massive cannon, he led with both fists out in front of him. He then closed his eyes and braced himself. Time slowed down and everything became quiet. He no longer heard the sound of the air flying by him, the anxious cries of the pirates, or the hum of the energy. He only focused on stopping this blast, saving the cargo ship, and ensuring these pirates didn’t harm another vessel.

When the rail gun fired, he delivered a single punch that struck the projectile with a force that shattered nearly the entire front half of the ship. It triggered a massive bang that echoed for miles in every direction, crippling both the weapon and the ship. It all happened within a fraction of a second. In an instant, Superman could sense the ship around him coming apart and every pirate that valued their own lives seeking refuge in the choppy waters. Then, in the instant that followed, everything went dark.

* * *

**Later**

_"No matter how strong you think you are or how weak you think others might be, you’re gonna get hit and you’re gonna get knocked down. That’s why you don’t throw the first punch unless you have to.”_

The sound of Jonathan Kent’s voice roused Clark from his unconscious state. Even in death, his father found a way to lecture him whenever he did something foolish. Ever since he started being Superman, he had been proving his father right at every turn. Between his massive headache and sore muscles, he could once again say his father had been vindicated.

“Ungh…you’ve made your point, Pa,” groaned Clark.

When he opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was the sun. The next thing he noticed was that he had washed up on a beach. He could feel wet sand on his back and waves crashing up under him. Still dazed and disoriented, Clark managed to roll over and crawl his way up the shore, coughing up salty seawater along the way. Near as he could tell, his clothes were still intact, albeit badly stained. His boots had somehow flown off at some point and his jeans had some tears in them. The only piece still fully intact at this point was his cape, but being intact was only part of the problem.

After making it above the shoreline, he got a better view of his new surroundings. He had washed up on some sort of tropical island. Ahead of him, he saw a row of palm trees and thick bushes. Beyond the trees, he saw a line of hills and rocky cliffs. Beyond the trees he could hear the sounds of various animals and even some running water, most likely a river that flowed from beyond the cliffs. Near as he could tell, it was deserted. There were no pirates attacking him. He didn’t even see any debris from the ship, meaning he probably got knocked pretty far off-course. For all he knew, there was no other island or ship for miles.

“Shipwrecked on a tropical island with nothing but beaches and trees…I suppose there are worse places to be stranded,” sighed Clark.

Still sore from the blast, he rolled onto his back again and looked up at the midday sun. Just lying on a beach, soaking up the healing rays of the sun, was the first step towards getting through this ordeal. It might end up being the closest thing Superman got to a vacation. He began to close his eyes in hopes of getting some much needed rest.

That’s when he heard some rustling from the bushes near the trees. Before he could even raise his head, someone jumped out and pounced on him. The next thing Clark knew, someone had a foot on his chest and an arrow pointed right at his face.

“Me and my big mouth,” he groaned.

“You are trespassing! Men are not welcome on Themyscira! Explain yourself before I let my arrow do the explaining for you!” said a commanding voice.

At first, he couldn’t make out the appearance of the figure in the blinding light of the midday sun. But as he shook off his daze, his vision cleared. That’s when he realized that he hadn’t been attacked by another ruthless pirate. Instead, he was looking up at a woman. And while it could have just been the lingering effects of being shot by a high-powered rail gun, she had to have been the most beautiful girl he had ever seen.

Clark had to blink a few times to make sure his eyes weren’t playing tricks on him. This girl was definitely no pirate. She had long flowing dark hair and wore what appeared to be a toga. She was also young, probably no older than 17, but she had a body that a woman of any age would envy. From her round hips to her perfectly proportional breasts to her unblemished skin, her every curve was a testament to all things feminine. In addition to those curves, she was remarkably toned. Her arms and legs bulged with the kinds of muscles that only professional athletes sought.

But this display of strength and beauty distracted him from her hostile demeanor. She still had an arrow pointed right between his eyes and she had a look on her face that reminded him of a hardened soldier. Were she any other threat, Clark would have already mitigated the situation. However, in looking up at this woman, the awkward 21-year-old in him came out.

“Um…hi,” he said in what might have been the goofiest tone a man could have in this situation.

“I’m still waiting for an explanation,” she said menacingly, the tip of the arrow now touching the bridge of his nose.

“This uh…is really just a big misunderstanding. You see, I was on this ship fighting pirates and there was this incident with a rail gun…”

But as Clark tried to explain, the woman pressed her foot down on his chest even harder. She pressed with more force than anyone, man or woman, should have been capable of. He actually felt his body dig into the sand, like the weight of a loaded pickup truck pressing against his chest. It revealed that this woman was no ordinary woman. It also indicated that this island was no ordinary island.

“You’re strong,” commented Clark, his tone still awkward.

“I know,” she replied proudly. “I asked you for an explanation, not an observation.”

“I’ll be happy to explain myself, but it would be a lot easier if I didn’t have an arrow pointing at my head.”

“You’re a man trespassing on Themyscira, home of the Amazons. You’re lucky this arrow isn’t lodged in your cranium.”

“The Amazons? Themyscira?” said Clark in confusion.

“Do not insult me with phony ignorance! We Amazons are proud warriors, blessed by the gods and trained to wage war against all those who challenge us. And I - Diana, Princess of Themyscira - will rise to any challenge!”

Now Clark was even more confused. It wasn’t enough that this teenage girl was both beautiful and tough. She was also a princess. He shouldn’t have found that attractive, especially with an arrow still pointed at his face. Yet the young man in him couldn’t help but be intrigued.

“Diana…can I call you Diana? Or would Princess be more respectful?” asked Clark in as friendly a tone as possible.

“Call me what you will. It will not grant you mercy in battle,” said Diana.

“I’m not here to battle you,” he said in a calmer tone. “Besides, I would never battle a woman, especially a beautiful woman like you.”

“Your flattery won’t earn you any mercy either,” she scoffed. “What do you take me for? Do you really believe I cannot best you in battle?”

“What? No, of course not! I mean I don’t know you or how strong you are, but…”

Diana pressed her foot down on his chest even harder, so much so that Clark actually felt it in ways he didn’t usually feel without taking a cannonball to the chest. His efforts to defuse this situation were failing miserably. He forgot that charm wasn’t one of his superpowers. Growing up in Smallville, Lana Lang and Pete Ross reminded him of that on a regular basis. Having never dealt with such a woman before, he needed a different approach.

“I’m strong enough to defeat any man!” she barked, her heel now dug right into the center of his chest. “I don’t care if Hades himself sent you. I will _not_ let you harm my mother, my sisters, or my home!”

“Whoa! Take it easy. I’m not here to harm anyone. I promise,” assured Clark. “Why would you even think that?”

“You’re a man, are you not?”

“Well yeah, I am. Granted, I’m not a typical man, but I am a man last I checked.”

“Then what business could you possibly have on Themyscira other than attacking my sisters and pillaging our land?”

“I already told you, I just washed up here by accident. I have no desire to attack you, your sisters, or your home. I’m not sure what other men you’ve dealt with on this island, but I’m not one of them.”

She finally let off somewhat, allowing him to breathe a little easier. But she kept the arrow pointed at this face, not willing to let him off that easy. Her hostility gave way to conflict. He sounded sincere in every word. Clark didn’t attempt to push her off, keeping his hands firmly by his sides in as non-threatening a manner as possible. He refrained from saying anything else, if only to avoid sending the wrong message again.

_‘She’s easing up. That’s a good sign. Listen to your father’s advice this time, Clark. Don’t throw the first punch. Just treat her like a lady…a tough, beautiful lady willing to shoot you in the face with an arrow.’_

Diana maintained a firm grip on her bow, still ready to end this man in an instant should he dare challenge her. But he showed no inclination to attack her. She saw no malice in his eyes. She definitely saw some level of attraction. That was to be expected. Her sisters told her men were amorous creatures, even at the most inopportune moments. Her sisters also told her that any man who somehow ended up on their shores could only be seeking trouble. By the Amazon Code, he was to be subdued or slain on the spot.

Her hands actually trembled. Her hands never trembled when staring down a foe. Everything she sensed from this man indicated that he did not seek to harm her or her sisters. To strike him was to strike an innocent, but she had been taught to assume that no man was innocent. It felt so wrong, especially now. In the end, her adherence to the Amazon Code won out.

“You’re a man. You lie!” she exclaimed.

She pulled the bow up a little farther, making sure it had plenty of force behind it. Then she let it go with enough force to penetrate the skull of an angry bull. Yet to her astonishment, and the dismay of the man, the arrow bounced right off him. It didn’t even leave a scratch.

“Um…ouch?” said Clark, even though he barely felt it.

Diana was so startled that she stumbled back, releasing her foot from his chest in the process. It allowed Clark to finally rise to his feet.

“That arrow was tipped with sharpened steel! Yet you are unharmed?” she gasped.

“Yeah, maybe I should’ve mentioned that too. I’m pretty durable,” said Clark, still trying to come off as non-threatening.

“No man is _that_ durable,” retorted Diana, who quickly took a defensive stance.

“Well like I said, I’m not a typical man.”

He decided to demonstrate this. He reached down and grabbed a handful of sand. Then, using a combination of strength and heat vision, he crushed it his hands to form a solid orb of glass. He even carved an S in it to give it signature of sorts. It was a trick he learned back on the farm in Smallville. It came in handy when fixing cracked windows. It also nicely conveyed the extent of the power he wielded and his control over it.

When he finished the orb, he casually tossed it over to her. Diana instinctively caught it in both hands. It was still hot, a sign of the sheer force involved in its creation. She wasn’t impressed by much, having grown up on an island of immortal women governed by gods. But seeing this man forge such a thing using power fit for the gods themselves, it struck her in a profound way.

“Such power and artistry,” gasped Diana.

“It’s not much. I didn’t want to overdo it. I try not to use more power than I need in a given situation,” said Clark.

“You mean you’re capable of even _more_?”

“Much more,” he answered. “To be honest, even I’m not even sure how far my powers go. I’m kind of still learning about them. It’s been that way since I was a kid.”

The humility in his tone was astounding. It shouldn’t have even been possible. Diana stared for a moment at the glass orb in her hands. Then she looked back at the man standing before her. If he spoke the truth about the power he wielded, then that had some distressing implications, some of which flew in the face of everything she had been taught about men.

“So you have all this power and are capable of much more…that means you knew my arrow would not harm you,” said Diana, her hostility giving way to a very different demeanor.

“Well I didn’t know for sure, but I was pretty confident that I would be okay,” replied Clark.

“Then that also means you could have escaped my grasp at any time. You also had the element of surprise. If you wanted, you could have subdued me. I would have been at your mercy. Yet still, you did not attack me. Why?”

“I already told you. I don’t want to hurt you. I didn’t come to this island to hurt anyone. I washed up here by accident. All I want to do is find a boat, get back to civilization, and get back to fighting the people who deserve it.”

He said these words as though they were obvious. But to Diana, he might as well have said the most ridiculous statement ever uttered. She now looked at him with such intrigue and awe. It made him blush somewhat, which was no small feat for Superman.

Diana took a few steps closer to him, this time with no hostility whatsoever. She stood so close that if he wanted, he could have attacked her and caught her completely off-guard. But again, he didn’t. He truly had no desire to harm her or her sisters. This man that wielded such extraordinary power did not seek to use it to subdue others. It defied everything she knew about men.

She had heard stories from her sisters about how men lacked compassion and would exploit anyone and anything they could if given the chance. That especially pertained to women, as Hercules and his men so viciously demonstrated. She saw no such inclinations within this man. If anything, she saw nothing but honest humility. This both astonished and intrigued her. She had to know more about this man.

“What is your name?” she asked him.

“Right, I knew I was forgetting something,” said Clark in a humored tone. “My name is Clark Kent. Well, my birth name is Kal-El. My adopted parents named me Clark. You can call me whichever you want.”

He didn’t usually share that kind of personal information with anyone, let alone a stranger that had just attacked him. In fact, he hadn’t told anyone his Kryptonian name since his adopted parents died. But for some reason, he found himself blurting it out to this woman. There was just something about her that made him feel comfortable sharing his identity.

“Clark…Kal…it’s nice to meet you. And I say that having never thought I would say it in the presence of a man,” said Diana, now sounding awkward for the first time.

“Nice to meet you too, Princess,” said Clark with a welcoming smile.

“Actually, I would prefer it if you call me Diana,” she found herself saying.

“Very well, Diana it is,” said Clark politely.

“And while I’m saying things I never thought I would say to a man, I suppose I should also apologize for attacking you.”

“That’s okay. I’m kind of used to being attacked. And most of those attackers don’t have the good sense to apologize so thank you for setting yourself apart.”

“You’re very forgiving, Kal-El. Yet another trait I’m not used to in men, or women for that matter.”

“Well I guess we’re finding all sorts of ways to surprise each other,” joked Clark.

Diana laughed at his remark. She couldn’t remember the last time she laughed. Between training, chores, and combat, there was very little laughter on Themyscira. She also found herself admiring his smile and his various manly features, which caught her off-guard somewhat. Amazons weren’t supposed to admire men, even if they were funny and kind. It further heightened her intrigue with this man.

“Before we face any more surprises, I sure could use some help getting off this island,” said Clark. “You mentioned there were more like you on this island. They wouldn’t happen to have a boat they could lend me, would they?”

“We do have boats, but I don’t think my sisters would lend it to you,” said Diana in a more serious tone. “By the letter of the law, you are a trespasser on Themyscira. That means any Amazon that sees you is required to either subdue you or slay you.”

“Then I’ll just explain myself to them like I did with you. It doesn’t have to get ugly.”

“No, you don’t understand. My sisters will not heed the words of any man. To them, the sound of a man’s voice contains only lies and deceit. They would sooner attack you where you stood. And unlike me, they would not hesitate.”

“Even if I don’t fight back?” asked Clark.

“It doesn’t matter what you do. You might be durable enough to endure an attack by one Amazon, but an attack from an army of warriors that are older and more experienced than me…that might be too much.”

She almost sounded worried about him. Clark wasn’t used to anyone worrying about his well-being. This woman kept looking at him as if he were something rare and unique. Being the last of his kind, this was very true. However, she saw in him a different kind of uniqueness, as though he had something that she wanted to protect. And since he shipwrecked on this island, which was apparently full of hostile female warriors, he needed that protection. He wasn’t used to that either, but he certainly didn’t mind it.

“For the moment, I see only one recourse. I will gather materials from my village and help you construct a ship,” said Diana.

“Sounds like a tedious plan. But if that’s the best option to avoid hurting anyone, I’ll take it,” said Clark.

“I can’t promise I’ll be a master shipbuilder, but I can promise to make your stay here as comfortable as possible. I will bring you food, tools, and supplies. I’ll even show you around this part of the island. It has a few streams and caves that should provide suitable shelter.”

“Guess I’ll have to treat it like a camping trip in the woods, except hungry bears won’t be my biggest concern.”

“Which is why I must also insist that you stay on this part of the island,” said Diana. “You’re actually quite fortunate. My sisters rarely venture to this area. It’s remote and lacks good fishing. I’ll have to make sure they don’t drop by unexpectedly.”

“Sounds like you’d be putting yourself at risk,” commented Clark.

“I’m the Princess. I can handle it,” she said boldly.

“I didn’t mean to suggest that you couldn’t. It’s just…you’re really going out of your way for me. Don’t get me wrong. I really appreciate it, but I’m not sure I understand why.”

That was a question Diana didn’t feel ready to answer. Looking at this man, she wasn’t even sure she was ready to ask it either. This man’s presence was an affront to Amazonian bylaws, but these were the same bylaws that had led to numerous arguments between her and her mother. An Amazon was supposed to fight with honor and follow her heart. Right now, her heart told her that this man was not a threat. He in no way embodied the qualities that she had been taught about men. He had a good spirit and a generous heart. Even if she couldn’t answer his question, she understood what she had to do.

“That doesn’t matter. All that matters now is that you are in need of help and I am in a position to give it to you,” Diana told him. “So long as you are here, I will make it my duty to protect you and ensure your safe departure from Themyscira.”

“And I appreciate that,” said Clark, who couldn’t help but smile at how she spoke with such strength, “I just hope that my presence here doesn’t cause too much conflict.”

“Don’t consider yourself a burden, Kal-El. Some conflicts are worth fighting for and from what you’ve shown me, you’re one of them.”

With that, her decision was final. Their fates were now entwined. Clark needed Diana to get off this island and Diana needed Clark to answer these burning uncertainties that had plagued her. Such needs would make them vulnerable in a way they weren’t used to, but that didn’t bother either of them. They just smiled at each other, ready to face whatever conflicts lay before them.

* * *

**Olympus – Throne Room**

“Father, I must speak with you. It’s about the Princess Diana of the Amazons,” said Ares in his usual stern tone.

Few things could distract the Father of Olympus from his never-ending duties to maintain the balance between the realm of the gods and the realm of men. While mankind no longer worshipped him, his purpose did not change. He was still the King of the Gods. He was tasked with maintaining order in the face of constant chaos. But even a god wasn’t immune to certain complications and this was one issue that forced his attention.

“Ares, if you wish to discuss certain topics with me, you would be wise to find a more tactful way of bringing them up,” replied Zeus with a harsh scold.

“You expect tact from the God of War?” scoffed Ares.

“I expect it from my son when he addresses his father,” he retorted.

“Well I’m not going to apologize because I know certain topics will always make you react in a certain manner. This is one of them.”

“There’s a good reason for that,” the Father of Olympus pointed out.

“There’s an even better reason why your policy of ignoring this matter is a concern,” said Ares, “Not just for me, but all of Olympus.”

Zeus kept scolding his son, but chose not to argue. He understood better than anyone the frustration that came with debating the God of War. He also understood that this was an issue that was bound to arise at some point. He only wished he could put it off a little longer.

The Father of Olympus had enough concerns at the moment. Most of his time had been spent observing the various vision portals, as the oracles called them, which allowed him to monitor the activities of both the mortal world and the domain of Olympus. He had noticed a steady growth in activity throughout the realms of Tartarus. As the world of mortals grew larger and more complex, it affected the various forces that governed the world of the gods. Managing it had become a challenge. Hades and Poseidon had both expressed their concerns about this growing chaos. With more and more of their power dedicated to managing such chaos, he had precious little energy to deal with this situation.

But Ares wouldn’t accept that as an excuse. He continued to forego any sense of tact and walked up to one of the vision portals. With a simple gesture of his hand, he brought up a scene he had observed several weeks ago on Themyscira. It showed Diana battling a succession of older, battle hardened Amazons. Despite being a teenager, she held her own against them, blocking and countering every blow. And every time she appeared subdued, she broke free and kept fighting. As the God of War, there was much to admire about such proficiency in combat. However, in more logistical terms, it was cause for concern.

“I’ve been monitoring her training since she could walk,” said Ares as more scenes played out. “Young Diana’s progress in the art of combat is astounding. Even her more experienced peers now have difficulty holding their own against her.”

“That’s to be expected. She is the Princess after all,” said Zeus.

“Whereas most Princesses would be content to live a life of sloth and luxury, Diana is defying expectations as often as she exceeds them. I feel it’s worth reminding you, father, that she is but a teenager. Given her current progress, she promises to become quite formidable in adulthood.”

“She’ll have to be if she is to lead the Amazons one day. I’ve spoken to Hippolyta on this matter. She has expressed interest in laying out a succession plan. She believes that if Diana can exceed her in spirit and skill, then she should lead.”

“That sounds like such a logical plan on paper, but I’ve reason to believe it is now prone to complications,” said Ares.

“What kind of complications?” asked Zeus curiously.

“The kind that could undermine the future of the Amazons. And at a time when chaos between our world and that of mortals is growing, we cannot have that.”

Now he had his father’s full attention. Ares then instructed the vision portals to display another series of scenes depicting the events that transpired after Diana’s training sessions with her sisters. They respected her as a princess and her skills, but they did not hide their discontent. Diana also did not seem to get along with them either. One scene in particular showed her shoving back a couple of Amazons that criticized her, forcing Hippolyta to come in and separate them. This was not an isolated incident either.

“As skilled as she might be, she is somewhat an outcast among her fellow Amazons,” said Ares. “They often call her names like Clay and often belittle her opinions. They still see her as a child and one who has not experienced the same hardships as them.”

“Such is a common conflict among the Amazons since we granted them their island,” said Zeus. “That’s the reason why we’ve limited their birthrate over the centuries.”

“But Diana’s birth had _special_ circumstances. You of all should know this,” said the God of War with a suggestive undertone.

“Be very careful with your next words, my son. Even if your concerns are valid, I will not tolerate your mockery,” said Zeus strongly.

“Then I won’t belabor the details. I’ll just point out that such circumstances, and the poor way in which the Amazons are handling it, can only lead to bigger problems.”

“These appear to be problems associated with a teenage girl struggling to get along with her peers. Such circumstances are hardly the domain of the gods,” said Zeus.

“You sound remarkably certain of their ability to deal with a teenage girl on an island that has limited experience dealing with them,” scoffed Ares.

“The Amazons are bound by a strict code of sisterhood. They have been since they swore their oath to us. They may bicker with one another. They may even annoy one another. But they all understand the importance of adhering to this code.”

“I too once took comfort in that knowledge. But lately, Diana has been spending more time alone and less time with her sisters. She is also arguing with her mother more frequently. Now some might attribute this to typical teenage rebellion. I, however, worry that Diana’s brand of rebellion might lead her to question her Amazonian upbringing. And unlike her sisters, she has the skill and clout to get away with it.”

“Hippolyta won’t let that happen,” said Zeus strongly.

“And you trust her to deal with Diana appropriately should she undermine that code?” questioned Ares.

“I trust Hippolyta more than I would ever trust you.”

Zeus turned his attention away from the vision portals. He even used his power to override Ares, stopping any other scenes from playing out. He had seen enough and had already made his decision. He now looked at the God of War as the King of the Gods and not his father. When dealing with Ares, Zeus understood the importance of leaving no room for ambiguity.

“I know what you’re trying to do Ares. You may not be tactful, but you are cunning. That might work on every army of every war throughout history, but it won’t work on the Father of Olympus,” he said sternly.

“Dear father, you speak as though I have an agenda,” scoffed Ares, pretending it was the most absurd notion imaginable.

“You _always_ have an agenda, Ares. That’s why you can dispense with whatever rhetoric you planned to use because it’s not going to happen. You will _not_ take Diana under your tutelage.”

The God of War’s expression quickly changed. He should’ve expected his father to make such a sweeping judgment. That didn’t make it any less frustrating.

“I suppose I was deluding myself when I hoped my father would at least let me state my case,” said Ares bitterly.

“You’ve never had to state your intentions. You’re a god of habit. You see a chance to stir up more conflict and you take it. I thought I made it clear to everyone on Olympus that Themyscira is off limits to such tampering.”

“This situation could escalate, regardless of our tampering,” retorted Ares.

“Even if it does, I would not allow you to make it worse.”

“And you would be making a mistake by shutting me out!” said Ares in a harsher tone. “Diana’s skill, spirit, and heritage make her more than just a great warrior. Someone of her power whose loyalty to the Amazon Code is in question could pose a direct threat to Olympus. I could make sure that doesn’t happen. I could turn her into the ultimate warrior, capable of defeating any foe and thereby preserve the foundations of Olympus!”

“You would only turn her into your puppet,” said Zeus, utterly unconvinced by such pleading. “You care only about adding another weapon to your arsenal. That’s all you’ve ever cared about.”

“Better a weapon in my arsenal than another agent of chaos.”

“That’s debatable, but my decision is _not_.”

Zeus made sure he got his point across. His eyes glowed with the distinct glow of his lightning bolts, radiating the vast power that allowed him to rule Olympus as he saw fit. It made the whole throne room shake, putting the God of War in a position to which he was not accustomed. In the realm of man, he readily provoked conflict. In the realm of his father, however, he wasn’t so ready. This was one war he knew he couldn’t win.

“Heed my words, Ares, because I will only say this once. You are forbidden from interacting with Diana or her mother,” said Zeus with the full authority of Olympus. “Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes father. You always do,” said Ares begrudgingly.

“Good. Then let me make something else clear,” the King of the Gods continued in the same authoritative tone. “Olympus is in an increasingly precarious state. I know at this very moment you’re conjuring a plan in your head, seeking a way to subvert my decision. I’ve been willing to overlook some of past exploits to prevent the gods from waging war on one another, but I can no longer afford such leniency. It doesn’t matter if you are my son. Oppose me and I will show no mercy. Do you understand?”

“As much as I’m allowed to, I suppose,” sighed Ares.

His disrespectful undertone annoyed Zeus, prompting him to radiate more power. Ares remained firm in his conviction, but he also acknowledged his father’s authority. He didn’t have to like it. He could despise it for all Zeus cared. So long as he understood, this issue was effectively resolved.

“Now then…see to it we never have this conversation again.”

“As you wish,” said the God of War, hiding his bitterness

Ares left the throne room, allowing the King of the Gods to fume in peace. However, he didn’t leave completely discouraged. He expected his father approached this issue with his usual stubbornness. Obtaining his blessing to reach out to Diana had been a long shot at best, but it did not change the conflict before him.

Whether Zeus liked it or not, Diana’s fate would lead to conflict. The King of the Gods might be too stubborn to see it, but the God of War knew it was coming. This conflict would find its way to Olympus and beyond. He just had to make sure he was in a position to have it work to his advantage. All he needed was the right opportunity. Based on what he had seen with Diana, it was only a matter of time.

* * *

**Up next: Secrets and Deception**


	2. Secrets and Deception

**Strangers in Paradise**  
**Chapter 2: Secrets and Deception**

* * *

**Themyscira – Training Arena**

The life of an Amazon revolved around two things – sisterhood and combat. The sisterhood aspect was more a way of life. There were no classes, aristocracy, or disparity. The worth of every Amazon was earned through combat, struggle, and sacrifice. This created a special bond among Amazons, one that was unparalleled in any army of man. This way of life helped their proficiency in combat. By fighting with great individual strength and a bond that united them all, they were an army capable of defeating any foe, man or beast.

The only Amazon who had ever born rank over another was Hippolyta. However, unlike the kings and patriarchs of old, she was not given her status. She earned it, leading the Amazons from their darkest hour at the hands of Hercules and to their greatest triumphs as defenders of Olympus. In doing so, she had also earned undying loyalty from all her fellow Amazons.

However, that didn’t make the act of being queen any less burdensome. Hippolyta learned on many occasions over the centuries that being a queen meant making difficult decisions. But in the moments when she saw the strength of the Amazonian spirit, she proudly accepted that burden.

“Ha! Are you still going easy on me, Daphne? I thought you said you had stopped after my sixteenth birthday,” boasted Diana, her voice fueled with the rush of combat.

“Well I usually take a certain amount of pity on immature teenagers, but I’ll take your tone as permission to stop coddling you, Diana,” responded Daphne.

It was one of the most common sights during the early morning hours on Paradise Island. Shortly after the sun rose, the Amazons went about their day-to-day duties. Naturally, combat training was the most important, ranking higher than sustenance at times. Many Amazons took the time to train at the large training arena near the center of the island. This included even Princess Diana and one of best part of Hippolyta’s days was when she watched her train.

At the moment, she was sparring with Daphne, an experienced Amazon who had been training with her since she was old enough to wield a sword. They stood together in a combat circle, as they called it. They wielded no weapons and received no instruction. The only rule in this training session was to subdue the other Amazon and stay within the circle. It was among the most basic of training exercises. Several dozen other Amazons had paired up and were sparring in a similar way throughout the arena. But Hippolyta, watching from a balcony that overlooked this part of the arena, focused only on her daughter.

Despite being the princess and only 17-years-old, Diana carried herself like a hardened warrior. She attacked Daphne with agility and strength, striking hard at her opponent’s core, knowing she would defend her head. She landed a few early shots around her waist and shoulder, striking the specific areas she had been trained to identify as weak points. She didn’t just rely on her strength and inherent Amazonian prowess. She fought with passion and focus, the very core of all Amazonian combat.

Daphne, despite her durability and experience, was somewhat surprised by the amount of force that Diana was able to inflict with her attacks. She didn’t show it. She was too proud a warrior to give her opponent that kind of satisfaction. She just endured and countered, striking Diana with attacks of her own. If she wasn’t holding back, then it was hard to tell because the match was remarkably even.

“You still keep claiming they hold back, dear daughter. One day you’ll realize they’ve never held back. Then you’ll realize just how strong and how special you truly are,” said Hippolyta, smiling with unmatched pride as she watched her daughter fight.

Moments like this still had a way of evoking many emotions from the Queen of the Amazons. Her royal stature faded at the sight of her daughter, who was growing into a powerful young woman that embodied the best of the Amazons. She had trained since birth to be a warrior. She had even been allowed to participate in combat, consisting mostly of skirmishes against beasts and fiends. Before long, she would be capable of much more.

“Keep smiling like that and Athena herself might get jealous,” said Aleka, who entered the balcony, still sweaty from her own training regimen.

“Then I suppose she’ll just have to cope. It would take the full might of Olympus to keep me from cherishing my daughter,” said Hippolyta proudly.

“I wouldn’t say that too loud. Certain gods might be petty enough to try.”

“And they would still fail,” retorted the queen.

Aleka laughed as she joined her queen on the balcony and watched Diana spar with Daphne. She was another Amazon that had earned a great deal of respect from her queen and her sisters. Aleka distinguished herself both in stature and strength. She was taller and had a broader build compared to most Amazons, giving her an intimidating presence that had few equals. She was also very formidable on the battlefield, her ability to attack with brute force being second to none. Such power earned her a special level of respect among the Amazons.

In addition to her strength, Aleka was also fiercely loyal, always going out of her way to prove her dedication to Hippolyta. Because of this, her words carried more weight with the queen of the Amazons than most. Hippolyta trusted her deeply both on and off the battlefield, which helped develop a special rapport between them. This also gave Aleka a keen sense of understanding when it came to her queen’s demeanor and she rarely hesitated to point it out.

“While I don’t wish to dampen my queen’s mood, I wanted to inform you that there have been rumors circulating amongst our sisters,” said Aleka in a more serious tone.

“What kind of rumors?” asked Hippolyta.

“The kind that involves distressing words such as ‘succession’ and ‘abdication’ in the same breath as your name,” she said. “I’m hoping you’ll tell me outright that such rumors aren’t true.”

“And what if they are? Would you then prefer rumors of a titan’s attack?”

“Honestly, I would prefer to do battle with an army of titans rather than contemplate you might relinquishing your throne.”

“I appreciate such loyalty, Aleka. I always have,” said Hippolyta, who kept watching Diana.

“I’m still waiting for you to deny the rumors. Tell me now so I can prevent them from spreading further.”

The imposing Amazon sounded anxious, hoping that these rumors weren’t true. Hippolyta easily could have lied to her and Aleka would have believed her without question. However, she didn’t like lying to her sisters, even when it would have made this situation easier.

Hippolyta’s smile finally faded, but she didn’t take her eyes off Diana. She and Daphne remained in a stalemate. Daphne had Diana by the wrists and kept trying to shove her back, but Diana had dug her heels in and wouldn’t let her. Daphne tried to hit her with a knee to the gut, but Diana endured it with uncanny resilience. Seeing that resilience only reminded Hippolyta of why this issue was so important.

“I’m sorry, Aleka. I can’t tell you what you want to hear,” she said to her friend and loyal sister.

“I’ll settle for a half-truth,” said Aleka in disappointment.

“Only the corrupt deal in half-truths. And I can’t afford to be corrupt at a time like this,” said Hippolyta.

“Even when dealing with a teenage daughter?”

“ _Especially_ when dealing with a teenage daughter,” she replied. “You and I have been through many battles. You’ve seen first-hand how those battles have evolved over time. With the world beyond this island becoming increasingly chaotic, the realm of the gods is becoming chaotic as well.”

“And you worry that the Amazons aren’t strong enough to handle it?” questioned Aleka.

“Not at all,” scoffed the queen. “The Amazons are still fully capable of waging war through the darkest pits of Tartarus. I only worry that I will not be strong enough to lead the Amazons with the strength they need.”

Aleka looked at her queen with concern. Then she looked back towards Diana, who managed to break Daphne’s hold on her by striking her heel to knock her off her balance. This allowed her to gain the upper hand. She took the older, more experienced Amazon into a choke hold and forced her down onto one knee. This demonstrated a level of proficiency that was typical of an Amazon, but not a teenager who had nowhere near the experience of her peers. It gave Hippolyta plenty of reasons to be proud of her daughter, but it also gave her something to consider when planning for the future.

“Watching Diana grow has been one of the greatest joys I have ever known,” said Hippolyta, her voice becoming more emotional. “She has the potential to be the greatest of all the Amazons. And with each day that passes, I see her realizing more and more of that potential.”

“I want to say that’s your motherly bias showing, but I’ve trained with Diana. I’ve seen that potential first hand. I even have the bruises to prove it,” said Aleka.

“Then I hope you’ll forgive me for contemplating a time when I step down from the throne and yield it to someone more capable. Our ways have served us well for centuries, but the world is changing. There must be someone strong leading the Amazons…someone who is not burdened by the scars of the past.”

“And you really think Diana could be that great a queen?”

“I have no doubt that she can. It’s more a matter of whether or not she will.”

“Well why wouldn’t she?” asked Aleka. “Is it not her duty to accept such responsibility if it is needed of her?”

“That’s my primary concern, I’m afraid. I’m not certain she will accept the responsibilities dictated by the Amazon Code.”

This was where some of Hippolyta’s pride yielded to frustration. As much as she loved seeing her daughter grow, it was not without challenges. Many of those challenges had come arisen in the past few years and some had not been resolved.

“Unlike most of our fellow sisters, Diana did not endure the horrors that led to the formation of the Amazon Code,” said Hippolyta distantly. “She didn’t endure the pain and indignation of Hercules and her men.”

“She’s lucky in that respect. There are times when I still want to crush a rock in my hands when I recall what those animals did to me,” said Aleka, clenching her fists in anger.

“We all suffered. And because of it, we understand the tenants of the Code and why it must be upheld. But Diana doesn’t understand. More and more, she has been asking questions about it and she is rarely satisfied with the answers I give her.”

“She’s a teenager. Her understanding is supposed to be limited.”

“I want to believe that. I really do. But the more she questions our ways, the more I worry that she won’t be able do what needs to be done,” said Hippolyta, a slight strain echoing in her tone. “She knows how much I love her. I know she loves me too. She loves all her sisters and will gladly crawl through the pits of Hades for them. I just don’t know that she’ll do so for all the right reasons.”

“Have faith, my queen. No mother in history has given her daughter more love and support than you,” said Aleka, offering her queen a reassuring gesture.

“And yet there might still be things I can’t give her…things she keeps asking for that I cannot keep ignoring,” Hippolyta continued to muse.

“Then she’ll have to figure it out on her own. And when she does, trust that she’ll make the right choices.”

“That’s just it. I do trust her. I just worry that her inability to understand what it means to be an Amazon will affect her ability to make those choices.”

This had clearly been bothering Hippolyta for some time. Her once beaming smile gave way to uncertainty as she watched the fight between Diana and Daphne unfold. Aleka also watched and while she couldn’t understand how this must have felt from a mother’s perspective, she did see why this left her queen so conflicted.

Daphne had refused to submit. While Diana tightened her choke hold, Daphne elbowed her in the ribs as hard as she could. It made Diana wince, but she didn’t relent. She eventually got desperate and tried to end fight herself by pushing back and trying to shove Diana out of the combat ring. However, Diana was ready for this. While Daphne might have had an edge in strength and experience, Diana made up for it with cunning. She released her grip on Daphne just as she pushed back, causing her to lose her balance and gain too much momentum. This left her vulnerable for a fraction of a second, which gave Diana all she time she needed.

During this moment of vulnerability, Diana hit Daphne with a punishing kick to the core and a heavy blow to the head, which left her heavily dazed. Then she grabbed her again by the waist and used her momentum against her, running her right into the ground so that she fell face first onto the hard concrete. This allowed Diana to pin her and restrain her limbs, effectively ending the fight.

“Yield!” Diana proclaimed.

“I was still…holding back,” grunted Daphne, now with blood dripping down her nose.

“Sure you were,” the princess scoffed.

It was an impressive display of Amazonian skill. Aleka could easily foresee the day when Diana entered adulthood armed with the skill necessary to earn the title of queen. She could even foresee her using those skills to gain the respect and admiration of all her Amazon sisters. However, she couldn’t foresee Diana embracing that role for the same reasons as Hippolyta.

“I can see why you worry,” said Aleka.

“I suppose it’s inescapable. Being a mother and an Amazon, it’s a never-ending battle and I’m not used to fighting battles I cannot win,” sighed Hippolyta.

“I respect your dedication, my queen. Although I don’t envy your situation.”

“It won’t be long now before she’s an adult. The battle will then be out of my hands. I’ve given her everything I can possibly give. I’ve raised her to be strong enough and compassionate enough to face the challenges that lay before her. But in the end, thats still might be insufficient.”

“For everything she has become and everything she could potentially be, how could that be insufficient?” asked Aleka.

“Because no matter how much a parent loves her child, they can never control everything about their lives,” said Hippolyta as she watched Diana help Daphne back to her feet. “The world of man and gods is full of corrupting influences. I pray to Athena that those influences never tear us apart.”

* * *

**Later That Day**

Diana couldn’t complete her morning training fast enough. She had been extra motivated to defeat Daphne and complete her chores so she could make her way back to the coast. That added motivation might have even influenced her ability to defeat her. But for once, victory in a fight was secondary. She was just too excited to learn more about Themyscira’s secret guest.

After proving that he meant her no harm, Diana had promised to help Kal-El return home. Unfortunately, part of keeping that promise involved a little deceit. While doing her chores, she covertly gathered some tools and materials from the various workshops and storage sheds. This included hammers, screws, rope, fasteners, and saws. In addition, she gathered other supplies to help make Kal’s stay more comfortable. She grabbed a spare blanket and pillow from her bedroom, along with some food. It wasn’t much, but it was a start.

When she arrived at the shore, Kal-El had already carved out a small settlement for himself. Before she left the previous day, she showed him a cave near a stream not far from the beach where he washed up. This was actually a cave where she often ventured as a child to be by herself and get away from the rigors of Amazonian life. It was small, but fairly spacious. It also had a nice view of a nearby waterfall, which he certainly didn’t seem to mind.

As soon as he saw her, he greeted her with a warm smile. Even though he was still somewhat disheveled, he was as kind and as welcoming as their first encounter. Before they got around to discussing how they would get him off this island, she offered him the food she had taken from her home. Together, they sat by the shores of the stream, eating the food and talking amongst themselves. It gave her a chance to learn more about this mysterious man and the world he came from. Diana soon found that the more she learned, the more she realized how much it differed from what her sisters told her.

“This place you speak of – Smallville, Kansas – it sounds so wonderful,” said Diana, having already finished her share of the food.

“It’s my home. So much of who I am and what I want to be came from the life I had there,” said Clark, his mouth half full of mango. “I couldn’t have asked for a better place to land after my world was destroyed.”

“Yes, this world in the stars…please tell me more about it,” said Diana. “I had no idea the stars could be teaming with such worlds.”

“Well I only know what my birth parents sent with me. And what I know I still can’t quite put into words,” said Clark as he set his meal aside. “From what I’ve seen, Krypton was an amazing world. But…”

His words trailed off. He still had a hard time putting his emotions into words when it came to his home world. Even though he had no memories of it, Krypton still had a place in his heart. Diana offered a reassuring smile and another helping of the mango he seemed to enjoy, which he accepted.

“It’s okay. You don’t need to say anymore if you don’t want to. I probably shouldn’t have asked,” said Diana.

“No need to apologize. It’s something I can’t ignore forever,” said Clark after taking another bite of the mango. “I’m still trying to figure it all out. I think my birth parents made sure I didn’t learn too much too fast. I guess they thought I wouldn’t be able to handle everything at once.”

“Doesn’t that bother you?” asked Diana.

“On some levels, I guess it does. Then I think back to how scared and angry I was when I first learned about my heritage. Everything I thought I knew about myself was shattered in an instant. I couldn’t process it, let alone accept it. I wouldn’t wish that kind of hardship on anybody.”

Clark fell silent as he finished his mango. It had been a long time since he shared this with anyone. The only ones he ever really opened up to about his insecurities were his parents and they were gone. He didn’t expect this girl that he barely knew to understand. But she listened to him and even if she didn’t understand, she offered him a special kind of compassion.

His struggles were so different compared to that of an Amazon. Smallville, Kansas was like its own island in many ways, isolated from the complications of the larger world. But it didn’t train its people to be warriors. It was just a quiet place for men and women to live their lives. In that sense, she couldn’t blame Kal-El’s parents for keeping these secrets from him. At the same time, it seemed wrong for someone to have their greatest talents and skills hidden from them.

“I’m sorry you had to go through such hardship alone,” Diana said to him. “Your ability to endure that hardship is a sign of strength. You should be proud of that strength.”

“I am. Well, I try to be,” said Clark somewhat awkwardly. “To be honest, it still overwhelms me at times. I didn’t actually step up and proclaim my abilities to anyone until recently.”

“Well maybe you should. Celebrate who and what you are. Don’t fear it. Take pride in it. That’s one of the first lessons we Amazons learn. We embrace our strengths and cherish that which makes us unique. Anyone that attempts to hold us back be damned because we’re proud of our identity.”

“From what you’ve told me, you and your people certainly don’t lack pride. But unlike most people, you earn every bit of it.”

“And that’s why I believe you’ve earned more than you believe,” said Diana. “You don’t even need to be a warrior to realize it.”

“No, but I’m sure it helps,” joked Clark.

“I never said that it didn’t. But so long as you’re stuck here, I might as well help you realize it.”

“Will that be in addition to helping me build a boat? You’re getting pretty ambitious here, Diana.”

“I’m a princess. I’m supposed to be ambitious,” she said proudly. “Besides, we’ll have more time than I initially thought.”

“How do you figure?” asked Clark. “Building a ship shouldn’t take _that_ long.”

“Well under ideal circumstances, it wouldn’t. And I never claimed they would be.”

“And I never should’ve assumed,” sighed Clark.

“Don’t worry. I still made a promise and I still intend to keep it,” said Diana strongly. “We’ll need more tools if you want this ship to be robust enough to handle the rough seas. And I can only acquire so many tools before my sisters notice. That means I’ll have to either make them using the forge or win them in competitions. In addition, the winds from the east aren’t going to settle for another few weeks. You’ll want to wait for the south winds, which should guide you to the nearest inhabited island. So we might as well make the most of it.”

Clark didn’t assume it would be easy getting off this island. However, he didn’t think it would take longer than a few days at the most. Looking at the tools Diana brought with her and noting the lack of materials they had to work with, it now seemed his earlier assumptions had been too optimistic. However, the idea of being stranded on this island with someone like Diana didn’t bother him that much.

“You know, I want to be upset about being stuck here longer than I thought, but you’re actually making it sound appealing,” said Clark with a humored grin.

“Is that a complaint?” she teased.

“Not at all,” he assured her.

“Good! Because another important Amazon value is to embrace challenges and even find ways to enjoy them,” said Diana. “The day we stop enjoying our struggles is the day we become complacent.”

With this value in mind, Diana grabbed Clark’s arm and led him over to the pile of tools and supplies she had placed near the entrance to the cave. She picked up a saw and handed him a hammer, not treating it like a chore in the slightest. This was the first man she had ever met and he had proven himself to be a good man at heart. She refused to let him despair while he was on this island, even if it meant pushing him at times.

“Follow me. I’ll show you where the best trees grow,” said Diana. “Along the way, you can tell me more about the wonders of man’s world. I would certainly like to know more about these movies, milkshakes, and sports you speak of.”

“And in return, you’ll teach me to embrace more Amazon values?” said Clark, who didn’t resist in the slightest as she led him up the creek.

“I’ll teach you as much as you want. A good warrior is always eager to teach another.”

“And a good man is always eager to learn from a pretty girl so I think we’ll have plenty to work with.”

His kind words made her smile and even blush a little. Diana couldn’t remember the last time anyone made her blush with words alone. It excited her and heightened her intrigue. Even though what she was doing, protecting the presence of a man, was a high crime under Amazonian Code, this felt so right and she was intent on sharing as much as she could with him.

Clark clearly was getting more than a ship out of this girl. Her spirit and her energy was infectious. He had met plenty of spirited women before in Lana Lang, but Diana had something special. It felt like she was reaching out to him on a level no one else had. He was her insight into a world she didn’t know and she offered a new perspective when it came to dealing with his powers. However long he was stuck on this island, Clark intended to make the most of it.

_‘She wants to help me and she wants to teach me. This girl just keeps finding new ways to intrigue me. It helps that she’s beautiful too. Probably shouldn’t remind myself of that too often. She’s still a princess of a tribe of women warriors who hate men. Probably shouldn’t remind myself of that either. Just learn from her, take it day-by-day, and see where this goes.’_

* * *

**Day 3**

“Explain it to me again. The quarterback, as you call him, takes the ball from under the center’s legs and has to decide whether to throw it or run with it,” said Diana as she helped Clark carry a few heavy tree logs back to the camp site.

“Well he doesn’t always decide. Sometimes he just runs the play that the coach tells him to run. And he doesn’t usually runs with it. He hands it off to someone who then runs with it,” said Clark, now questioning whether he was qualified to explain sports.

“That sounds needlessly complicated,” she said. “And I’m still confused on the scoring system. Why does a touchdown, as you call it, grant six points again?”

“I’ll have to get back to you on that one. I’m not sure of that either,” admitted Clark.

Diana sighed and shook her head as she set down the heavy logs near the creek. Clark had spent most of the afternoon trying to explain various sports to her. Themyscira had sports as well, but most involved training and combat. These sports that Clark described, football and baseball as he called them, sounded more elaborate. At times, it distracted them from their task of gathering suitable wood for Clark’s ship.

“Leave it to men to create such a convoluted game,” said Diana. “It’s not enough to just throw a ball around. You need to make it confusing.”

“I want to stand up for men as a whole, but even I can’t justify some of these rules,” said Clark as he used his heat vision to ensure the logs were cut equally.

“I never said I didn’t like it. I still think it sounds like a fun game…especially the hitting. I would play it just to get one of those quarterback sacks you speak of.”

“Yeah, I had a feeling you would appreciate the hitting,” laughed Clark.

“Except I wouldn’t bother with pads and helmets,” added Diana. “I would wear no armor and let my muscles impart all the force, like a true warrior should. Is it at all possible for football to be played in the nude?”

Clark almost misfired with his heat vision when he heard that. He tried as hard as he could not to laugh. This was something he was still getting used to with Diana and her culture. They were big on feats of strength and didn’t shy away from danger. They also didn’t place much emphasis on modesty. They were proud of who they were and didn’t care what anyone else thought. While Clark found that refreshing, sometimes it went too far.

“Maybe it would be better to just leave that part of the game convoluted,” said Clark.

“Do you always attempt to dodge an issue when you get frustrated in conversation?” teased Diana.

“I’m not frustrated. I just…think it’s better to not belabor certain details.”

“Sure you do,” she replied, utterly unconvinced. “If it makes you feel better, I won’t ask any more questions about uniforms or armor.”

“They actually call it padding,” Clark corrected.

“Whatever it is, it doesn’t matter. I still want to know more and we still have a few more logs to gather. Please tell me more about these games, but only if it involves more hitting and less complicated scoring systems.”

This time he couldn’t stop himself from laughing. It seemed like a losing battle. Looking at all the logs they had gathered and all the work they had ahead of them, it was probably not a good use of their time, explaining the complexities of certain sports. At least Diana was more enthusiastic about them than most women he had met.

“In that case, maybe I should just skip football,” said Clark. “Why don’t I tell you about another game called baseball?”

* * *

**Day 4**

“So what did you do after you killed the harpy?” asked Clark.

“Before or after the blood stopped spurting out of his neck?” replied Diana.

“Um…whichever gets the point across.”

It had been several hours since Diana began telling Clark about her first battle against an incursion from Tartarus. What started as a trip through some dense brush to gather branches that could be used as scaffolding and rope for his boat turned into a detailed account of Diana’s youth. Apparently, Amazons didn’t ease young children into combat. They were expected to participate as soon as they were strong enough. It sounded harsh at first, but from what Diana described, she held her own.

“Well to do that, you need to know the context of this battle,” Diana continued as she uprooted some more bushes. “Amazons are frequently called by the gods to help contain the chaos that they cannot handle themselves.”

“Yes…these gods that are apparently real,” said Clark, this revelation still sinking in.

“On this particular incursion, a number of rogue cyclopes escaped from their prison in Olympus. They managed to open a few gateways to Tartarus to unleash a horde of harpies, which helped cover their escape.”

“Does that happen often?”

“Less than you think, but more often than we prefer,” answered Diana. “While the more experienced Amazons were tasked with taking on the creatures, I was allowed to take on the harpies. Being young and inexperienced, I allowed myself to get separated from the main force and cornered. That’s where one particularly lucky cyclops found me.”

“And exactly how big was this lucky creature?”

“Big enough to see a young girl like me the same way a wolf sees a wounded chick,” said Diana.

“It doesn’t sound like you were scared.”

“I wasn’t. Like every Amazon, I learned to set aside my fear before I entered the battlefield.”

Clark tried to picture the scene. A younger, less imposing Diana enters the battlefield for the first time against a horde of blood-thirsty harpies. From what she spent the past few hours describing, it must have been horrifying on so many levels. Then she finds herself cornered by a creature that’s bigger, stronger, and capable of swallowing her whole. Yet she never hinted that she showed any fear. She might have just been boasting, as teenagers are prone to do. However, he never got the impression that Diana was being dishonest.

“It was the first time I had to fight for my own survival,” Diana continued. “Everything slowed down in the heat of battle. I was still covered in harpy blood and mapping out my attack. The creature roared and kept trying to grab me. I avoided it and tried to stab it, but my sword had been dulled from slaying so many harpies.”

“And you said you had already lost your shield at this point so how did you beat it?” asked Clark, now on the edge of his seat.

“I still had my fists and a lasso. That was more than enough,” she said proudly. “I admit the creature did get in a few lucky shots. I lost a good chunk of my armor avoiding its wrath, but I eventually turned the tables. It eventually managed to grab me, but this turned out to be a mistake.”

“How much blood was involved this time around?”

“Not that much actually,” she replied in a humored tone. “It squeezed me hard, but I freed myself by biting its hands with my teeth. Then while it was still thrashing, I climbed up its arm and used my lasso to choke it. The creature still put up quite a fight and I was certainly sore the next day. But I managed to bring it down. When my sisters found me, they were truly impressed. My mother was so proud.”

It was one of Diana’s most vivid memories. She considered that to be the moment when the warrior within her truly emerged. That battle proved to her sisters that she was not just a coddled princess. She was a warrior every bit as worthy as other Amazons. It was the day she began her transition from being a girl to being a woman.

The idea of a girl emerging from so much war and bloodshed astounded Clark. Its effects showed in the way Diana carried herself. Even as she gathered more branches and hitched them over her back, she conveyed a sense of pride and strength that rivaled any man. Yet she still managed to maintain this aura of compassion and honor. What should have traumatized her only added to her strength. It was the kind of strength he wish he had during moments where he also felt trapped.

“You had quite an interesting upbringing, Diana. Between fighting monsters and becoming this warrior princess, you’ve found a way to fight through it and come out stronger,” said Clark.

“And I didn’t even tell you about what I did to the harpies that took my shield,” said Diana. “But I think you can figure it out by now.”

“I’ll use my imagination. It just amazes me that someone who went through so much hardship could still be so kind and caring.”

Diana smiled and blushed at his words, which was becoming incredibly common whenever she was around him. But she was getting used to it. Every day, it seemed, she found a new way to astonish him and he found a new way to astonish her. It continued to undermine her assumptions about men, but she had long since stopped caring.

“Well I’m equally amazed that a man of such power can still be so noble so we’re even,” said Diana.

“I don’t know about that. From what you’ve told me about the challenges you’ve faced, I think it’s safe to say you’ve got me beat,” said Clark.

“Don’t mix flattery with humility, Kal. It doesn’t suit you,” she teased. “But if you’re interested in catching up, I would be happy to teach you a few warrior techniques.”

“Learning to fight from a warrior princess whose idea of a playground is a battlefield…I’d like that.”

* * *

**Day 7**

“Your technique is still a little weak, but it’s improving,” remarked Diana as they entered their second out of training.

“I haven’t gotten a faceful of sand in nearly a half-hour. I like to think I’m doing more than just improving,” said Clark.

“Well I have no intention of sending you off this island unequipped, so you had better improve faster.”

She almost sounded menacing, making Clark wonder if it had been a good idea to accept her offer to teach him some Amazon fighting techniques. Then he watched her show him the motions again and he remembered why this was worth getting thrown into the sand on multiple occasions.

Within three days, this became another activity on top of constructing the ship. They had gathered plenty of materials, but Diana still needed to forge some of the necessary tools to help put it together. This gave them extra time to work on these combat techniques. From the beginning, Clark got a harsh reminder that for all his power, he never actually learned how to fight.

Despite this, Diana didn’t go easy on him. She showed him everything from take-down maneuvers, grapples, and identifying pressure points on a body. This often involved them sparring on the beach not far from where he washed up. That also involved her demonstrating these techniques on him, which usually ended with him being slammed into the sand. It was a lot to take in, but promised to be very useful. It certainly would have come in handy against the pirates that caused him to be shipwrecked in the first place. And while he could have done without the sand in his face, he made a concerted effort to learn these techniques.

“Watch my hands as I aim for those pressure points I outlined yesterday,” said Diana as she skillfully performed every motion. “You must think of your limbs as independent weapons. Let your left go one way while your right does the other. Train them to move on instinct. That way you’ll be able to counter any move your enemy makes.”

“Speed has never been an issue for me. I could probably stand to refine my instincts,” said Clark, standing next to her and attempting to mimic her moves. “I just need to be careful sometimes. With strength like mine, it’s easy to hurt someone.”

“That’s where focus comes in,” said Diana. “When Amazons fight alongside each other, they must also be aware of their surroundings. We’re constantly outnumbered and overwhelmed. That means we can’t afford to hurt one another with recklessness.”

“So what kinds of techniques help you with that?”

“Sometimes you need more than technique. Sometimes there’s no substitute for experience.”

Without warning, Diana turned on him and attacked. She didn’t move at speeds he couldn’t match, but she was so focused and so swift with her motions that Clark didn’t get a chance to pick up on it. She ended up striking him just below his chest at a pressure point that sent a sharp sting up through his body. Unlike the first time she did this to him, he blocked the secondary attack with his right arm dug his heels in so that she couldn’t push him off balance.

Another impromptu sparring match followed. Diana went for more pressure points and Clark blocked every one of them. He didn’t strike back, staying completely on the defensive. It was a very different approach to fighting compared to what he experienced since becoming Superman, but it felt much more intense.

“Every move…every strike…every block…never lose focus!” barked Diana.

“I won’t. Not this time!” said Clark with greater determination.

She kept on attacking, not holding back in the slightest. She landed a few strikes, sending more stings through his body. But he endured every one of them, taking shots that sent him falling flat on his face only two days ago. Eventually, he saw his window to counter. When she attempted to strike at his neck, he maneuvered his upper body in just such a way as to gain the right over her. This allowed him to grab her arm and pull her into a grapple. It was the first time he had ever managed to stop one of her attacks.

“What do you say now? Am I still improving?” asked Clark with a wry grin.

“Somewhat,” she said curtly.

Diana then employed a technique she hadn’t shown him yet, hitting him in the lower leg with her heel to knock him off balance. This stunned him for only a half-second, but it was long enough for Diana to flip him over and body slam him right onto the wet sand again.

It hurt his pride more than his body, but it sent the right message. He still had a long ways to go. He must have looked somewhat pathetic, lying on his back, looking way more shell shocked than he should have after three days of training. But Diana didn’t hold it against him. She just kept grinning and offered him a hand.

“You’ve made your point. I’ve got a long ways to go,” said Clark.

“All the more reason to keep refining your technique,” said Diana as she helped him up. “I might not be able to impart a lifetime of warrior training in just a few days, but I can still guide you down the right path.”

“Does it have to hurt this much?”

“Yes…it does.”

* * *

**Day 10**

“Incredible! You saved a whole bus full of children from drowning in the river? Even after they treated you so unfairly?” said Diana, once again astonished by another tale of this man’s humility.

“I honestly wasn’t thinking about that at the moment. I didn’t care that Pete and his friends tripped me and stole my lunch. All I cared about was saving them,” said Clark.

The sun was setting over the beach and Clark was hard at work carving the hull of his makeshift boat. Diana had been helping him by laying out the keel, but she eventually became engrossed in another one of his stories from Smallville. The more time they spent with each other, the more personal these stories seemed to get. The other day, Diana told him a story about how one of her sisters, Daphne, called her “Clay” after defeating her in a sparring match. It hurt her in a way that she never revealed to anyone, which inspired Clark to share a personal story of his own. And it happened to be one that came to define him as Superman.

“I was going against everything my parents told me about using my powers. They worried that by revealing them to the world, I would make myself a target in ways I wasn’t ready for,” said Clark, still focusing on sanding down the hull.

“I can relate. Parents have a way of worrying about their children, far past the point of frustration,” said Diana distantly.

“But they also taught me the importance of doing the right thing when nobody else can. Every one of those kids would have drowned if I hadn’t done something. I was responsible. I had the power. So I used it.”

“And how did those other children react?” she asked.

“Well they were so scared and confused that they didn’t really see me push the bus out of the river. But I know Pete saw me. From that day forward, he was the first to stand up for me.”

“Did he even apologize for the way he treated you?”

“No, he didn’t,” said Clark.

“He didn’t? Why?”

“Because he didn’t have to.”

While Clark kept working, Diana set her tools aside and thought about the deeper meaning of this story for a moment. As a child, Clark didn’t really fit in with his peers. They thought he was too different, but they had no idea just how different. They went so far as to tease him. If anyone did that here on Themyscira, a fight would break out. Amazons didn’t take kindly to insults. They didn’t seek forgiveness. They sought vengeance. What Clark just described was the complete opposite of what she would have done if she were in his position, yet what he did sounded more righteous.

This boy had teased and humiliated Clark, but that didn’t keep Clark from doing the right thing. He didn’t even ask for an apology. Diana kept trying to wrap her head around that notion. It clashed so completely with the Amazonian Code, forcing her to look at it from a completely different perspective. Her mother would have scolded her for entertaining such thoughts and so would her sisters. But that only made her dwell on it even more, so much so that Clark noticed her change in demeanor.

“Um…is everything okay, Diana? Did I say something wrong?” asked Clark.

“No. Not at all,” said Diana, still somewhat dazed.

“Then why do you look like I just said the craziest thing I could possibly say?”

“Because in that story, you did something I can’t see myself doing if it happened to me mere weeks ago,” said Diana, still running through the scenario in her head. “What you did that day was right. In fact, it was the most honorable thing anyone could have done.”

“That didn’t stop my dad from getting upset, but thanks anyways,” said Clark.

“What really bothers me though is that had I done what my Amazonian heritage had taught me, it wouldn’t just have been less honorable. It would have been for all the wrong reasons. I’ve never even imagined a situation like that…one where just following the Amazon Code isn’t enough. I find it _unsettling_.”

“Then maybe we should change the subject and focus on finishing the hull,” said Clark.

That sounded plenty appealing. It probably wasn’t a good idea to be thinking these thoughts anyways. The Amazon warrior in her urged that she forget everything she just contemplated, but Diana stopped herself before that could happen. These thoughts felt too important to forget.

“Actually, I would rather not. I think it’s a good thing it bothers me,” said Diana.

“Are you sure? I don’t want to make this more uncomfortable than it has to be,” said Clark.

“I’m sure. Sometimes it’s good to feel uncomfortable. It forces us to look at things from a different perspective. And you’ve given me many new perspectives to consider.”

* * *

**Day 13**

“Hey Kal! Are you up yet?” Diana called out into the cave. “My mother thinks I’m off hunting boars this morning so I can be here all day. I even saved you some of my breakfast if you’re hungry.”

Not getting a response, Diana looked around the cave for any sign of Clark. His makeshift bed had clearly been slept in and his shirt and cape were neatly folded nearby, which meant he had to be close. She hoped to surprise him this morning. She usually had to wait until the afternoon to drop by, but she managed to beat Daphne in a swordfight, which resulted in her getting stuck with her chores. That meant she had more time to spend with Clark today. She just had to find him first.

She set the food down and started looking around for him. She noticed fresh footprints in the dirt so he was clearly nearby. While remaining vigilant like any good warrior, she followed them from the cave through one of the animal trails leading towards the creek. Diana suspected he must already be working on the boat. She intended her early arrival to be a pleasant surprise. In addition, she found herself increasingly eager to spend time with him. The more she was around him, the more she wanted to be around him. After nearly two weeks, it had gotten to a point where she planned her entire day around it. Since the boat was almost completed, she had been trying to add to that time and she might not get many more days like this.

After following the footsteps to the shore of the creek, she noticed that they shifted direction. They now headed up towards the waterfall that poured into the small pond. Without giving it much thought, she followed the footsteps.

“Kal? Did you hear me?” she called out again.

She moved aside a few bushes and shrubs as she approached the pond, giving her a clearer view of the waterfall. That’s when she saw him. However, she ended up seeing way more than she expected.

“By the Gods…” she gasped.

Diana froze where she stood, something she had never done even in the heat of battle, but no battle could have prepared her for this. Standing under the waterfall was Kal, casually washing his hair and rinsing off his body. And when he turned around briefly to run his hands through the thick beard that had grown since his arrival, she got a full view of all his naked glory.

Her mouth hung open in a mix of awe and lurid curiosity. Diana wasn’t usually uncomfortable around nudity. It wasn’t unusual for her and her sisters to do certain exercises in the nude. It wasn’t like male nudity was completely foreign to her either. She had been around farm animals and seen statues of male gods. She knew the intricacies of male anatomy. She just had never seen it like this and she found herself reacting in unexpected ways.

_‘Amazing. He doesn’t just have the strength of a god. He has the body to match it as well…not to mention the endowment.’_

Diana scolded herself for having such perverse thoughts, but it didn’t alter her reaction. It started with a red hot feeling around her face and a sudden dryness in her mouth. Without realizing it, she took a few steps closer to get a better view. After he finished washing his beard, he turned back around, giving her a perfect view of his butt. This caused the hot feeling in her face to spread to other parts of her body. She soon felt weak in the knees, so much so that she shifted awkwardly. It gave her even more reasons to berate herself.

_‘What am I doing? I shouldn’t be staring at him like this…even if he looks so damn good. I swear those legs muscles are worthy of Atlas himself. And those arms! I’ve seen him without his shirt on, but I never realized how well they complemented his…’_

Diana closed her eyes and shook her head, forcibly stopping those thoughts before they could become any more lurid.

_‘No! How could I be thinking these things? I’m an Amazon for crying out loud! I’m supposed to be disgusted by men. Kal is a good man, but I shouldn’t be feeling this…this drawn to him. Should I?’_

That last thought forced her to open her eyes and stare again. Clark had already shattered so many assumptions she once had about men. She had reassessed many of the perspectives she once never questioned. Maybe this was another one.

Part of Amazon conditioning involved learning all the ways men were disgusting. This included physical attributes. She remembered some of her sisters sitting her down and vividly describing the male body. They often compared it with that of a pig, dirty and foul until it was slaughtered. And if the appearance didn’t disgust her enough, their inclinations should. She had been told men were selfish, greedy creatures who would gladly slit the throats of ten fellow men just to ravage one woman. Everything they did was part of their unending pursuit to dominate and exploit, which often led to horrific stories of what Hercules and his men did to them centuries ago.

All this was supposed to paint men as vile and seeing one naked should have triggered only revulsion. However, that’s not what Diana felt when she saw Kal-El. This man had already given her reason to question the inclinations of men. Now she found herself questioning what she had been taught about her appearance as well.

“Maybe I should,” she found herself saying.

She didn’t mean to say that out loud. She also failed to realize that she kept inching her way closer to get a better view, which allowed Clark to hear her. When he turned around and saw her, his eyes widened and Diana’s awe quickly turned to embarrassment.

“Whoa! Diana?!” gasped Clark, quickly covering his lower regions with his hands and turning around.

“Kal I…didn’t mean to say that out loud,” stammered Diana.

The proud warrior who never lost her poise, even in the heat of battle, stumbled back and ended up falling flat on her butt just near the shore of the creek. Her face burned hot with utter mortification, along with other parts of her body. She didn’t take her eyes off him at first. She ended up having to put a hand up to block her view while Clark retrieved his pants.

He ended up stumbling plenty as well, almost tripping over himself as he grabbed the jeans he had folded on a nearby rock. Since his body was still soaked, he didn’t try putting them on. He just held it up to lower body as he emerged from under the waterfall to confront Diana. She looked plenty embarrassed, but she also had this strange half-grin on her face. She might not have realized it, but it indicated that she liked what she saw. That helped take away some of the embarrassment from this moment.

“Uh…you’re early today,” said Clark with a sheepish grin.

“I didn’t know you were bathing! I just came here early because I saved you my breakfast, I swear!” she exclaimed, as though she had just been caught committing a crime.

“Take it easy. You just saw me naked. It’s not a big deal,” he replied, trying hard not to laugh at the look on her face.

“I…still should’ve known better. This was so wrong of me!”

“Diana, it’s not wrong for a teenager to be curious about the human body. Then again, your circumstances aren’t typical so maybe I’m assuming too much. But it’s still not wrong.”

Once the embarrassment faded, he slipped back behind the waterfall to put on his pants. He said these words in good humor, but he didn’t realize just how much his words clashed with everything Diana had been taught. She finally lowered her hand, getting one last brief view of his butt in the process. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to make her feel that same hotness throughout her body. However, in light of Clark’s remarks, it didn’t feel quite as uncomfortable.

Diana eventually rose back to her feet. She also found herself smiling as she watched Clark dry himself off with his cape. She had already been drawn to him because of his kindness, humility, and strength. That alone had been quite overwhelming. Now she found herself drawn to him physically. It should have been overwhelming, but instead it felt right. It still clashed with many aspects of Amazonian culture, but that didn’t bother her as much anymore. Having had so many of her previous assumptions about men shattered, she began to accept that her experiences with Kal-El would change her.

_‘He says it’s not wrong. Every instinct I have tells me it’s not wrong. Yet I can still hear my mother’s voice yelling at me. First my heart betrays me. Now the rest of my body has followed suit. How many more ways will you affect me, Kal-El? But maybe that’s the wrong question. Maybe I should be more concerned about how I’m starting to reconsider what it means to be a woman and an Amazon.’_

* * *

**Day 15**

“Wait…back up. I need to hear that again,” said Clark, who had to stop working for a moment. “Venelia called you Clay, the name I know you hate with a passion, and you didn’t challenge her to a fight?”

“I’m not going to repeat myself. You clearly heard what I said the first time,” said Diana, not making nearly as big a deal about it as she probably should have.

“I know what I heard. But from what you’ve told me about Amazon culture and the way you’ve dealt with insults in the past, I’m just…surprised that you would do something like that.”

“Not as surprised as Venelia, that’s for sure.”

Diana sounded proud of herself, but she also sounded conflicted. She had arrived to the cave late today. They had recently completed work on the hull of his boat. It took a lot of stolen nails and creative woodworking, but it was almost seaworthy. Now it needed a sail. Diana brought with her a pile of cloth from tattered togas that her sisters had thrown away, providing the necessary material for a sail. But as they went to work cutting them up and sewing them together into a large sheet, she told why she had been late. Apparently, she got into another argument with one of her sisters, but it didn’t end the way Amazonian arguments usually ended.

“You know the circumstances of my birth as well as the rest of my sisters, Kal. You know how much I hate being called Clay,” said Diana, still pretending to focus on the sail.

“Given the lengths your mother went to bring you into this world, it’s a petty insult. But it strikes all the right chords,” commented Clark.

“That’s exactly why Venelia says it. She knows it’ll provoke me. And I always provoked her back, demand that she apologize. She never did. So naturally, we fight to right these wrongs. That’s how we defend our honor and resolve our conflicts.”

“But that’s not what you did this time,” Clark pointed out. “What changed?”

Diana finally stopped sewing and looked over at Clark, still conflicted by what had transpired earlier this morning. He hadn’t known her for very long, but he knew enough about Amazonian culture to understand how arguments usually unfolded. They didn’t just forgive and forget. They fought for vindication. That’s what made Diana’s actions so startling, both to her sisters and to her. And she never would have even contemplated such actions until recently.

“You did, Kal,” said Diana. “These stories you tell me – like how you saved all those children from that bus – reveal a different way of winning a battle. It’s a way few Amazons have contemplated because they don’t dare question what has worked for so long.”

“I feel like I should apologize, but I don’t think you would accept it,” said Clark.

“So when Venelia insulted me, looking for a fight, I thought about the way I had been doing things and the ways you’ve been describing. And at that moment, I decided that your way was more honorable than that of the Amazons.”

It pained her to say this, but it echoed with truth. Clark set the sail down for a moment and scooted closer towards her. He offered to console her, taking his hand in hers. She lightly squeezed it, still deeply conflicted. He never intended to make her question her culture. She probably never intended helping him to get this personal. But it was too late now. There was no use avoiding it.

“That couldn’t have been easy,” said Clark.

“It wasn’t. I was so enraged. I wanted to fight like I’ve always fought. I never imagined it would feel so…wrong,” said Diana, shaking her head in disbelief as she recalled the situation.

“I won’t say that it’s wrong. We all have to fight our battles at some point, but that doesn’t mean we have to make a battle out of everything.”

“Tell that to my sisters. They kept calling me a coward, trying to get me to strike them. If my mother hadn’t shown up, they might have succeeded.”

“But they didn’t,” said Clark. “You won that battle by not fighting. I know that seems strange. It sure did to me when I was a kid. But my dad would always tell me that the greatest warriors are the ones that avoid the most battles.”

“Is it always supposed to be this hard?” sighed Diana.

“Most of the time it is, but that’s usually how we know we’re doing the right thing.”

It sounded so counter-intuitive, but it made sense on some levels. In Diana’s experience, the hardest fought battles were the most satisfying. Noble endeavors were supposed to be difficult. Every Amazon understood that. If only they could understand it in this context, maybe they would appreciate it as she had come to appreciate this man’s insight.

* * *

**Day 18**

“This wild boar’s is great, Diana. Thanks for sneaking it out here to me,” said Clark as he bit into a thick leg of meat.

“Well I figured you were getting tired of fruit and bread after over two weeks. I think you were due a treat,” said Diana, having already finished her share.

“It’s not my mom’s famous Kansas barbeque, but it’s close. It’s probably as close as I’ll get so I’ll be sure to enjoy it.”

Clark continued to devour his dinner, savoring the freshly cooked meat and all its flavor. This had been an unexpected treat. Diana arrived late in the afternoon, having had extra training to complete. But she made sure it was worth the wait. She came with a freshly caught boar, which was a common animal throughout the island. She hunted it down herself, cleaned it up, and promised to cook the whole thing over a fire pit near the beach.

The meal was complete just after sunset. He and Diana had spent the last couple of hours just relaxing in the sand, watching the fire and looking up at the stars. Clark made sure nothing went to waste, devouring every last scrap of meat. With the raft almost done and needing a few more pieces to mount the sail, it wouldn’t be long now before he could finally leave. That made savoring moments like this all the more important.

Looking over at the nearly completed boat, Diana also knew he would be leaving soon. She understood that he was eager to get home and had no desire to keep him here any longer than he needed to be, even if she had grown fond of his company. But that meant she had precious little time to appreciate his company.

“Can I ask you something, Kal?” asked Diana.

“Of course. You can ask me anything, Diana,” said Clark as he licked some of the meat juices from his fingers. “It’s the least I could do for a meal like this.”

“It’s kind of hard to talk about, but I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately. And it has to do with…well, being lonely.”

Her tone became solemn in a way Clark had not yet heard from her. Her usual Amazonian pride and charisma faded in an instant. Now she was just a vulnerable teenage girl, hugging her knees and staring into the crackling fire. Seeing her this way made him feel less like Superman and more like just another vulnerable young man.

“Oh…well I don’t know how much help I can offer there,” said Clark.

“But you still understand,” Diana went on. “You’re the last of your kind. And you’re adopted parents…”

Her words trailed off, not wanting to say it. Clark made sure she didn’t have to.

“I know. They’re gone too,” he said solemnly.

“It must be so lonely, losing so much and being so different. You’re a god among men, yet you embrace them. You don’t let the loneliness consume you. And I just want to know…how do you deal with it?” she asked intent.

“Are you asking me because you’re curious? Or is there another reason you’re not ready to share?” retorted Clark.

“Does it matter?”

She already knew the answer and Clark wasn’t going to press her. She could have been asking this question for any number of reasons. He imagined she must feel pretty alone herself, being a teenage girl on an island with so few and being a princess that had to live up to so many expectations. Her circumstances might be very different, but he could still relate in all the ways that mattered.

“I’m not going to lie. It does get to me. After my adopted parents died, I felt like I had lost my world all over again,” said Clark, doing his best to remain strong in the face of such harsh emotions. “Other people have friends to turn to and new people to meet. But me…I have nobody. I might be able to make new friends, but I can’t share with them who I really am.”

“But you’ve shared them with me,” said Diana.

“Yes, and I can’t tell you how much that means to me. But before I ever washed up on these shores, I had to learn a hard lesson…one I learned while standing over my parents’ graves.”

Clark needed a moment as he recalled that fateful memory when he said goodbye to Jonathan and Martha Kent. In some ways, that was the moment where officially became Superman. It was a defining moment and one he hadn’t talked about since it happened. But for a girl like Diana, he made an exception.

“We’re only as lonely as we allow ourselves to be,” said Clark. “The pain of losing someone and being isolated from everyone else is hard, but we only make it harder by letting it define us. I am who I am because of the people who loved me, the friends I’ve made, and even the strangers I’ve met. They’ve all helped me become the man I am now.”

“So in a sense, they’re a part of you?” said Diana, some of her spirit returning to her tone.

“That’s a good way of putting it. So while I may feel lonely, I remind myself that I’m never truly alone. Because in the end, we all affect one another on some level. Some just have a greater effect than others. That’s why it’s so important to cherish the experiences and memories we have with them.”

When he said this, Diana scooted closer towards him. Her solemn demeanor faded and she found herself leaning into the warmth of his body. Even though his hair and clothes were disheveled and his face now had a full-fledged beard, she took such comfort in his presence. Just being near him helped her recall the many experiences they had shared since he arrived. Every story, every mundane conversation, and every intimate detail took on greater meaning.

Clark understood that meaning as well and didn’t hesitate to embrace her. It seemed fitting. When she first saw him, she attacked him. Now here they were, sitting by a campfire and sharing a moment. It showed how far they had come. In many ways they had gone farther than they had ever intended, but they had long since stopped caring.

“I guess that’s what I’ll have to do from this point on,” said Diana, now clinging to his arm. “I know you’re leaving soon. The boat is almost finished and the winds have started changing direction. It’s going to be a lot lonelier without you.”

“That’s for sure. I’ll miss having someone like you to talk to…someone who knows what it’s like to crush a rock with my bare hands.”

“I’m going to miss you too. I wish you could stay longer or at least find a way to visit.”

“On an island where my presence is an affront to the gods? That would be a challenge, even for me,” sighed Clark.

“But I don’t want to think about that right now. I just want to focus on all the good you’ve brought into my life. You’ve given me an entirely new insight into the world beyond these shores.”

“Maybe one day, you can see that world for yourself. I’ll even make sure to protect it,” said Clark.

“I know you will. Being an honorable man and a Superman, I would expect nothing less,” said Diana warmly.

Their embrace deepened as thoughts of loneliness gave way to feelings of contentment. With the stars shining above and the fire still crackling, they had all the makings of a moment worth cherishing. That still didn’t stop them from entertaining the possibilities of the future.

“And maybe one day, the Amazons will finally forge peace from the chaos. We’ve been fighting for so long. It needs to end at some point.”

“Well maybe you could be the one that makes peace,” suggested Clark. “You are the princess after all.”

“Easier said than done, I’m afraid,” said Diana. “War has a way of hardening some and strengthening others. It certainly has affected my mother in ways she’ll never admit. I like to think that growing up as I have and surviving the heat of combat along the way gives me greater appreciation for the peace it preserves.”

“If only more warriors thought like that,” sighed Clark.

“Well we all can’t be great warriors. Sometimes they are born, not made.”

“And I guess in your case, they’re both. That’s only makes you even more special.”

She smiled at his kind words, taking strength in them that could not be gained from any battle. He smiled back, embracing her closer and conveying all the ways they had affected one another since his arrival. Knowing Clark would have to leave soon, they practically clung to one another in an effort to commit all the experiences they shared to memory. These experiences created in them so many powerful feelings. They were running out of time to express those feelings.

As they sat together, enjoying the warmth of their embrace, Clark glanced over at her and contemplated those feelings. There were plenty he had yet to express, but there was this unspoken agreement about limiting such expressions. He saw it in her eyes and felt it in the way she clung to his arm. If they shared too much, then it would only make his departure more painful. There were many things he wanted to say and do before he left and time was running out for both of them. He had to decide soon how far this would go because the last thing either of them wanted was for him to leave with regrets.

* * *

**Meanwhile**

_‘By the Gods, what is this abomination?’_

Aleka had seen some pretty disturbing sights in her lifetime. She had watched Hercules and his men ravage her sisters and her queen. She had encountered the most blood-thirsty beasts from the foulest depths of Tartarus. This might not have been the most disturbing, but it was close. Diana, the Princess of Themyscira and the Amazon destined to lead them into battle one day, was consorting with a man.

It would have been less shocking if she found out Diana had been keeping a harpy for a pet. Aleka only came out here at the behest of Hippolyta, who had grown concerned about her daughter’s recent behavior. She worried that she was spending too much time alone, isolating herself from her sisters to an unhealthy extent. The recent incident where she didn’t attack Venelia for calling her Clay only deepened her suspicions. Since she never had a reason not to trust her daughter, she decided to send her out in search of reassurance. Instead, she found the opposite.

“A man…here on Themyscira, corrupting the princess?!” said Aleka with burning anger. “He must be using some form of black magic or deception. That’s the only explanation I can digest!”

With the stealth and skill that had led her through countless battles, Aleka moved in for a closer look. She crouched down behind a tree and some bushes, taking care with every step and keeping her hand on her sword at all times. She watched on, ignoring her revulsion every step of the way. She prayed to Athena that this wasn’t as disturbing as it appeared. But as the scene before her unfolded, it only got worse.

_‘She’s…embracing him? She’s smiling and laughing in his presence?! Diana, what has he done to you?’_

She gripped the handle of her sword, resisting the urge to jump out and slay this man where he stood. She still didn’t rule out some kind of black magic. That’s when she heard Diana say it.

“You’re a very special man, Kal-El. No matter what happens from here on out, know that you have already carved a very special place in my heart,” Diana told him.

“You’ve certainly entrenched yourself in mine so I guess we’re even,” the man replied. “How much deeper do you think you can go?”

“As far as we can get away with!”

She actually sounded playful when she said those words. If that weren’t bad enough, she was exceedingly affectionate with him, grasping his arm and looking at him in a way no Amazon would dare look at a man. Aleka then realized that this was no black magic. This was something far worse. Diana was genuinely smitten with this man. That meant that this couldn’t have happened yesterday. This man had been on this island for who knows how long, infecting the princess with his perverse ideas and undermining Amazon law. Such a transgression could not stand.

_‘You foolish little girl, succumbing to the charms of a foolish man. You dishonor the Amazons just by being near him. This will not stand! This man will pay for his transgressions and so will you. By Hera, you will learn that even the princess is above Amazonian law.’_

* * *

**Up next: Royal Decree**


	3. Royal Decree

**Strangers In Paradise**   
**Chapter 3: Royal Decree**

* * *

**Themyscira – One Day Ago**

“Aleka, do you have a moment? There’s something I must ask of you,” said Hippolyta, feeling more stressed than usual.

“Of course, my queen,” answered Aleka without hesitation. “You know there is little I won’t do for you.”

“Well this is something I need you to do quietly and covertly. It involves Diana.”

Now Aleka shared her concern. Any major issues involving Diana were usually handled privately between mother and daughter. That was how Hippolyta wanted it to be from the moment her daughter was born. For her to get someone else involved must mean something serious had come up.

“Is everything all right with her?” asked Aleka. “You’re not still worried about that incident with her and Venelia, are you?”

“No, this is a new concern…one that may or may not be related,” said Hippolyta. “I’ve noticed a change in Diana lately. She has been spending less time with her sisters and more time by herself.”

“Has that not often been the case with her since she entered adolescence?”

“Yes, but this feels different. This feels like something more than the irrational behavior of adolescence.”

The queen’s tone took on a more anxious subtext. She knew the day Diana learned to walk on her own that one day she would enter these formative years. Even Hera had warned her that children tend to become more frustrating during adolescence. She had already dealt with those frustrations on a number of occasions, but they were usually minor and petty. Based on what she saw in Diana’s recent behavior, this could be much bigger.

“I really hope I’m wrong. Diana has never given me a reason not to trust her. I just…need some assurance,” said Hippolyta, now pacing somewhat.

“Are you still talking to me, my queen? Or are you just thinking out loud?” asked Aleka.

“It never bothered me that Diana would finish her training, do her chores, and run off to the shores. She claims she likes to hunt and fish in that area. I never had a reason to doubt her. But the way she has been carrying herself lately – it troubles me.”

“And you want me to confront her?” questioned Aleka in confusion. “With all due respect, my queen, this sounds like an issue that is best addressed between mother and daughter.”

“That was my initial inclination. But with each passing day, it seems, I’ve more reason to worry. She seems much more eager than usual to go off on these _hunts_ , as she calls them. And whenever she returns, she has this spirit about her…one that I’ve seen before and hoped to never see in her.”

“What do you mean? And how am I to aid you?”

Aleka remained confused. She clearly hadn’t seen it. Hippolyta doubted that any of the other Amazons had seen it. These were the kinds of subtleties that only a mother could notice in her daughter. As she paced, she mused over the possibilities. There could still be a simple, mundane explanation to Diana’s recent activities. She prayed with all her heart that this was the case. However, she had to know for sure.

“I want you to follow Diana to the shore tomorrow,” said Hippolyta, now speaking with the authority of the queen once more. “I want you to find out what she’s been doing these past few weeks.”

“Forgive my candor, my queen…but are you asking me to spy on your daughter?” asked Aleka, saying each word very carefully.

“I’m asking you to verify that my daughter is being truthful,” replied Hippolyta. “Do not, under any circumstances, let her know of your presence. And no matter what you discover, you are not to act on your own accord.

“What if I discover something distressing? What if the princess is in danger?”

“Just note her activities, Aleka. I’ll decide the appropriate recourse if necessary.”

She was firm with her words, leaving Aleka with little else to question. While she still had reservations, she nodded and bowed loyally to her queen.

“Very well, my queen. It will be done,” said Aleka.

“Thank you, Aleka,” said Hippolyta, still very anxious about what she might uncover.

“And as an aside, I feel I must say this…I believe in Diana. I might not always agree with her and or approve of her attitude, but I never doubt her honor or her warrior spirit. Whatever is behind her recent behavior, I have faith that it is nothing egregious.”

“I hope you’re right, Aleka,” said Hippolyta. “I pray to every god on Olympus that you’re right.”

* * *

**Present Time**

Diana returned from the shore in higher spirits than usual. It was late. A full moon had already risen over the island, but she didn’t feel tired in the slightest. The warmth from his embrace and the kindness in his words still lingered, adding fuel to all the complex feelings she had for him. While they had confused her initially, Diana had come to embrace them. Even though he was going to be leaving soon, these feelings would not leave with him. It gave her a whole new perspective, one that promised to change her understanding of what it meant to be a warrior.

As always, she had to be somewhat tactful when returning home. She was a bit later than usual, having claimed that she spent the day hunting and fishing. She even brought her sword and spear with her to make it appear convincing. She passed by some of her sisters, who were going about their various evening activities. Diana didn’t see her mother anywhere, which wasn’t unusual at this hour. She assumed she was busying herself with the day-to-day duties of a queen. As she made her way to her private quarters, she already began contemplating her next visit with Kal.

_‘It’s going to be hard saying goodbye to Kal. I wish there was some way we could still meet. If only we had those phones or emails he speaks of. Perhaps there’s something special I can do for him before he leaves. It’s only fitting that we part with something that’ll make us cherish our time together even more.’_

As Diana considered the possible gifts she could give to express her fondness for this man, she casually entered her sleeping chamber. Then, much to her surprise, her mother was there waiting for her, sitting on the edge of her bed with a look that could have rivaled Medusa.

“Good evening, Diana. I trust you had a good hunt,” greeted Hippolyta with folded arms.

“Mother…I thought you would be occupied with other matters at this hour,” said Diana, trying not to sound too startled.

“What matters could be more important than those that concern my daughter?” she retorted.

“Why is that so concerning? It was just a hunt.”

“I know that’s what you told me. And I’ve never had a reason to doubt what you tell me. I like to think that I can trust you as much as I can trust my own heart. So tell me, truthfully Diana…have you really been off hunting these past few weeks? Or have you been consorting with a man who shouldn’t be on this island?”

When Diana heard this question, she felt like she had just been struck by one of Zeus’s thunderbolts. In an instant, her high spirits turned into the utmost dread. Were this anyone other than her mother, she would have reached for her sword and prepared to defend herself. Instead, Diana could only tremble, something no Amazon warrior was used to doing.

“What? Why would you ask such a notion?” asked Diana, unable to hide her nervousness.

“Don’t avoid the question, Diana! I expect that from a fool, but not from my daughter,” said Hippolyta angrily.

The Queen of the Amazons rose up and confronted her daughter, looking down at her like a titan looking down at an insect. She listened intently, giving Diana a chance to answer the question. But only silence followed, which was an answer in and of itself.

“Well? Are you going to say anything or can I assume your answers will be equally foolish?” scolded Hippolyta.

“What does it matter? You already seem to know the answers,” muttered Diana. “Can I also assume that you’ve been spying on me?”

“Don’t you dare turn this around on me, Diana!” spat Hippolyta. “I cannot believe this. My own daughter, deceiving me and all her sisters! How could you?!”

“Will you at least give me a chance to explain myself before you condemn me?” retorted Diana defensively.

“I don’t see how your actions could possibly be justified!”

“Then why should I bother explaining myself? It’s true. There is man here on Paradise Island. It’s also true that I’ve been going to see him on a regular basis for the past few weeks.”

“And at no point you saw fit to inform me? What were you thinking?!”

“I was thinking you would react just like _this_!” exclaimed Diana, her voice becoming strained in wake of her mother’s anger. “I know what the Amazon Code says. I know what would happen to him if I told of his presence.”

“And you chose to defy it?” scolded Hippolyta.

“He was shipwrecked. He only wanted help. I chose to do what was right!”

“You mean to tell me you believed the words of a man over that of your fellow Amazons?”

“He’s not just some man, mother! He showed me in both words and deeds that he is a good, kind soul who means us no harm. You and our sisters would have him imprisoned, tried, or executed. And for what? For being a man? How is that just?”

Never before had Diana dared raise her voice to her mother like this. She had long since stopped trembling and dared to justify her actions, but this only added to her mother’s outrage. Within her mother’s angry glare, she saw the unyielding dogma that had governed the Amazons for centuries. That dogma would not be easy to confront, even if she was convinced that she had done the right thing.

Hippolyta had to restrain herself, taking a step back and turning away so that Diana wouldn’t see the pained look on her face. She shook her head solemnly as a sick feeling emerged within the pit of her stomach. Not long ago, she entertained the idea of stepping down from the throne and letting Diana take over. She actually trusted that she would continue to lead the Amazons and uphold the traditions that had made them so strong. Now here she was, listening to her daughter slander those very traditions. She had sincerely hoped that this man hadn’t influenced Diana to the extent that Aleka described. Once again, the whims of a man had hurt her deeply.

“Great Hera, this is even worse than I feared,” Hippolyta lamented. “This man has corrupted your thinking.”

“Nothing could be further from the truth, mother,” said Diana, lowering her tone in an effort to ease hostilities. “If you’ll just take a moment to listen to what I’ve learned from him…”

But Hippolyta didn’t care to hear her excuses. She just closed her eyes and attempted to conceal her disgust.

“How far did this abomination go? Did he seduce you? Did you have coitus with him?” she asked.

“What?! No! We did nothing of the sort,” exclaimed Diana.

“So you just allowed him to rape your mind?”

“Quit talking about him like he’s some sort of beast! He’s not Hercules!”

“He’s still a man, Diana. His inclinations are not that different from a beast,” said Hippolyta.

“You’re wrong! Your judgment is clouded, mother. You’re using the crimes of one man condemn to condemn _all_ men. Can’t you see the error in such thinking?”

Diana attempted to confront her mother again, grabbing her arm and turning her around so that she could face her. But to her shock, Hippolyta grabbed her by the wrist and threw her across the room so that she hit the stone wall right next to her bed.

“Aagh!” cried Diana. “Mother! What are you…”

“I’m doing what I must as a queen and a mother,” said Hippolyta in coldly.

With a heavy heart, Hippolyta retrieved the special lasso she had strapped to her side. While her daughter sat stunned and shocked, she used it to bind her wrists. Since the lasso was blessed, it could not be broken. Once secure, she gave it a hard tug to force Diana back towards her. She still struggled, but it did her little good. No matter how unruly her daughter chose to be, Hippolyta made clear that she had no authority in this matter.

It was the worst feeling any Amazon could’ve endured, submission and defeat. Diana struggled with the lasso at first, but it was no use. Looking up at her mother, she saw no sympathy in her eyes. She was now asserting herself both as a parent and as queen of the Amazons.

“This is what is going to happen, Diana. I will convene an emergency meeting with a legion of Themyscira’s best warriors,” said Hippolyta assertively. “Together, we will formulate a course of action. Make no mistake. We intend to subdue the male trespasser by whatever means necessary, as our bylaws decree. He will then face punishment for his crimes.”

“What crimes? Being stranded on an island against his will? Being condemned for crimes he never committed?” scoffed Diana.

“Had he merely trespassed, the gods might have shown mercy. But now his crimes are much more egregious. He didn’t just corrupt an Amazon. He turned my own daughter against me. For that, his punishment will be far more severe.”

“So you’re going to kill him? Just for making me think thoughts you don’t approve of?!” cried Diana, her outrage giving way to horror.

“I’m merely upholding our sacred code, Diana. You, of all Amazons, know what that code decrees. You should’ve known before you allowed yourself to get attached to this man.”

Her words were harsh, but not wholly inaccurate. Diana wanted to scold her mother for contemplating such an egregious injustice, but she couldn’t deny her role in that injustice. By allowing herself to get close with this man, she effectively condemned him. Ironically, all these wonderful experiences that she had shared with Kal-El could end up being what destroys him.

“By that same code, you will participate in this process, but only as a witness” Hippolyta continued. “You must see why we uphold these traditions. I don’t expect you to enjoy it. I don’t intend to enjoy my role either.”

“That or you’ll do a masterful job of hiding that sentiment,” said Diana under her breath.

“Nevertheless, this is what the gods decree. This is what we as Amazons must pursue. If you care at all about your sisters and your mother, you’ll remember that there is no place on Themyscira for the corrupt influences of men.”

There was a sense of desperation within her authoritative. She might have carried herself like a queen, but Hippolyta could not hide her disappointment. If Diana weren’t so upset with her or herself, she might have acknowledged it. Instead, she just held her head low and prayed for the strength she would surely need to get through this.

_‘Kal…forgive me.’_

* * *

**Early Next Morning**

_‘I’m going to miss this place. Even though it’s full of a bunch of man-hating warrior women, I’m still going to miss it.’_

Clark took a stepped back and admired his and Diana’s work. The makeshift boat they had cobbled together with trees, twigs, rope, and old togas was finally complete. He had woken up early just before sunrise to make the final tweaks. Now, in addition to the changing winds, it was seaworthy. Diana warned him that the waters surrounding the island often got choppy during this time of year. So long as the weather held up, he should be able to get through and make his way to civilization. While he looked forward to getting back to being Superman, he was definitely going to miss spending time with Diana.

After making sure the sail was secure, he used his super strength to carry the boat down to the shore. Along the way, he made sure to commit his surroundings to memory. He saw the campsite that he and Diana set up where they shared meals, the spots near the creek where they went fishing, and even the waterfall upstream where she accidentally dropped in on him while he was showering. Clark smiled as he recalled all these moments.

Diana was the first person he felt like he could relate to since his adopted parents died. It wasn’t just that she was strong. They came from such different worlds, but they understood each other and their struggles. He doubted he would ever find anyone else like that back in Metropolis.

Clark tried not to think too much about life without Diana. Once he reached the shore, he set the boat down and contemplated how he would spend his last day on Paradise Island. Diana told him the winds would be at their highest in the middle of the afternoon. That gave them at least half a day to enjoy each other’s company one last time.

_‘I’m not looking forward to saying goodbye, Diana. We haven’t known each other long, but I know enough to understand how special you are. I may never find anyone like you and not just because you’re the first one to ever beat me in an arm wrestling match. I wish there was some way to bridge the gap between our worlds. But I guess some jobs are impossible, even for Superman. That doesn’t mean we can’t leave on a good note.’_

Once the boat was set, he retrieved a little memento he had crafted for Diana late last night after she left. It was a football, which he forged using some spare rope and his heat vision. It didn’t look like much, but it seemed fitting. Of all the sports Clark had told her about, she had been most fond of football. Being a warrior, it made sense that she would have a taste for contact sports. Maybe before he left, they could throw the ball around a bit and create a few more good memories before he left.

As Clark smiled at the thought, he heard some rustling from the bushes near the trail that led to the beach. This was the trail Diana usually took when she arrived so he didn’t think much of it.

“Is that you, Diana? You’re right on time. I’ve got something for you,” said Clark as he walked up the beach to greet her.

He couldn’t make his way up the sandy shore fast enough. Then he saw a figure emerged from the trail, but it wasn’t Diana. His smile quickly faded and he froze as an older, imposing woman approached.

“You’ve nothing she wants. You should know better, but then again you are a man,” said the woman.

“Who are you? Where’s Diana?!” exclaimed Clark as he stepped back.

“You don’t get to make demands of me, barbarian. I am Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons. And you’re going to answer for your crimes against my daughter and my sisters!”

And just like that, the possibility of creating anymore good memories before he left completely disappeared. Diana warned him that the rest of the Amazons on this island would not take kindly to his presence, but this wasn’t just any Amazon. This was Diana’s mother. Her angry gaze alone was enough to make even Superman tremble.

As she approached, he cautiously stepped back towards his boat. Along the way, he heard more rustling in the bushes surrounding the shore. Then, Hippolyta raised her sword and like a trap being sprung, a whole legion of armed Amazons emerged. Clark watched with dread as the warrior women let out angry battle cries and surrounded him with stunning speed.

“For Themyscira!” they all yelled out.

They moved in a perfect swarm, making sure every escape route was blocked. Clark had dealt with soldiers and mercenaries before, but none of them had demonstrated this kind of efficiency. From what Diana had told him, these were immortal women who had multiple lifetimes of combat experience. He was just a kid from Smallville who had only a few weeks of training under Diana. If each of these women were as strong as Diana, then he didn’t stand a chance.

“Please…I don’t want to fight any of you. Can we just talk about this?” asked Clark, doing his best to sound diplomatic.

“I’m afraid we’re already past that point. You’ve already done enough damage with your words and I’ll see to it that you do no more,” said Hippolyta.

The queen turned towards one of the Amazons behind her and nodded. She got the message and stepped aside, allowing Aleka to step forth. And following close behind was Diana, still bound by her wrists by a lasso. Aleka had been tasked with keeping Diana cooperative. She didn’t make it easy on her, often resisting her efforts to keep her moving. Aleka had to give the lasso a few hard tugs to keep her in line. While the princess showed grit, her demeanor shifted considerably when she approached.

“Diana!” gasped Clark when he saw her bound state.

“I’m okay, Kal,” she assured him.

Aleka gave the lasso another tug to silence her. As she stepped forward, the rest of the Amazon legion closed in, their shields and spears pointed at him. They were clearly very upset with him, but they looked every bit as upset with Diana.

“Please, let her go. I’ll do whatever you want. Just don’t hurt her,” said Clark, holding his hands up in the face of all this hostility.

“Oh Kal… tis is one case where your humility will only hurt us both,” said Diana solemnly.

“Spare me your empty words! They’ve done enough damage,” said Hippolyta. “You will _not_ deceive me as you have my daughter.”

“I swear, I’m not trying to deceive anyone,” said Clark calmly.

“I’ve heard that talk from men before. They pretend to be sincere, saying whatever they need to say to get a woman under their spell. Your methods must not work on sensible women so you set your sights on an immature teenager. Even for a man, that’s pathetic.”

“Nobody put anyone under any spell. I was shipwrecked. Diana helped me. Anything else that happened…”

But Hippolyta wouldn’t hear it. She stepped towards him and pointed her sword at him so the tip was only inches from his neck.

“Silence!” barked the queen, “I don’t want to hear any more of your lies.”

“He’s not lying, Mother!” shouted Diana, which earned another rough tug of the lasso from Aleka.

“That applies to you too, Princess,” said Aleka coldly. “You’re only making it worse by believing whatever this beast of man says.”

“A beast is too kind a word, Aleka,” said Hippolyta, glaring at Clark with the utmost hatred. “This man did something far worse than trespass on our homeland and spread lies. He actually turned my own daughter against me, convincing her to lie to her mother and her sisters. His crimes are almost as egregious as those of Hercules. While that monster never paid for his crimes, I can assure you that this man will!”

Clark, his hands still raised, gulped nervously under her harsh words. This woman’s hatred of men ran deep. Diana only told him so much about the horrors the Amazons endured in the past, but she also told him to assume it was many times worse than anything she could describe. Between these horrors and her being a protective parent, Clark couldn’t have been in a worse position.

By now, the Amazons had fully encircled him. He briefly considered jumping over them, but he noticed some of the Amazons were armed with bows and arrows. Based on what Diana told him about Amazonian weapons, these weapons were probably enchanted with magic. That meant they could hurt him and if their archery skills were as good as Diana’s, they could really wound him. His only other option was to fight, but that would only provoke these women even more. As Superman, he was supposed to be powerful enough to get out of any situation. But this was one situation where even he was powerless.

“You will not be leaving this island in one piece, barbarian. You’re going to come with us and stand trial at the Temple of Athena. There, your crimes against the Amazons will be documented and your punishment will be administered. Between trespassing on our island and corrupting the queen’s daughter, Hades will have to prepare a special place in the underworld for your soul.”

It didn’t sound like much of a trial. Hippolyta had already made her judgment. Her voice echoed with so much outrage. Clark tried to say something in his defense, but a desperate look from Diana dissuaded him. Anything he said at this point would only make matters worse. Every Amazon surrounding him was ready to attack and silence him at the slightest provocation. Now, the promise of getting home felt more distant than ever.

_‘I knew Diana’s mother was harsh, but this is a whole new level of hate. Guess I won’t be missing this place that much after all…if I actually manage to leave in one piece.’_

Clark continued to keep his hands up, not moving a muscle as Hippolyta stared him down, already contemplating the ways she would punish him. It was the first time Diana ever looked at her mother with disgust. This woman, who she loved with all her heart and who taught her to be strong, was so consumed with the vilest of hatred. She looked around at her sisters, who shared in that hatred. In that moment, she no longer saw an army of proud, honorable warriors. She saw a pack of bloodthirsty animals, looking to prey on the innocent.

In this moment of disgust, Diana fell to her knees and bowed her head in sorrow. She thought she had seen great horrors in battle. None could possibly compare to this. Her sisters might be the ones that hurt Clark, but she was the one that condemned him. She condemned him by daring to open her heart. Everything about that felt wrong. Being a warrior, she could not let that stand.

As she struggled with her disgust, she noticed that Aleka was not in the same defensive stance as the rest of the Amazons. Being bigger and stronger than most of her sisters, she likely assumed she didn’t need to be vigilant when her only task involved keeping a rebellious teenager restrained. That arrogance might be her last opportunity to end this. She briefly looked back towards Clark and then at her mother. Knowing Clark would never risk hurting her or her sisters, Diana realized that only she could stop this injustice.

“Don’t waste your time shedding tears for him, Princess. Once justice is done, we’ll see to it that you forget all his lies,” said Aleka smugly.

“You’re only half-right, Aleka. Justice _will_ be done,” said Diana.

In an act that would surely pain her heart, Diana roughly tugged on the lasso restraining her, causing Aleka to stumble forward. Before the taller woman could regain her balance, Diana delivered a powerful sweep kick that knocked her feet. In the process, she lost her grip on the lasso, allowing the Diana to free her wrists and wield the lasso on her own.

“Ungh!” grunted Aleka as her back hit the sand. “Look out, my queen!”

But neither Hippolyta nor the rest of the Amazon legion had a chance to stop Diana. They were too focused on Clark, blinded by their hatred and their desire to administer their precious Amazon Code. Diana, now emboldened and armed with a lasso, put to use the same warrior skills she had been taught to uphold that code.

She threw the loop of the lasso at her mother so that it wrapped around her torso. Then, just as her mother realized what was happening, Diana summoned a level of strength she had yet to show and pulled her away from Clark.

“Ahh! Diana?!” exclaimed Hippolyta. “What in Poseidon’s name are you doing?!”

“Preserving what’s left of our honor,” answered Diana.

“Say focused on the man, sisters! I’ll stop her,” yelled Aleka.

The rest of the Amazons flinched only briefly, not nearly enough time for Clark to do anything. It was still plenty of time for Aleka to get up and attack Diana. She managed to come up behind her and pull her into a choke hold. For a moment it seemed to work and she attempted to push Diana back down to her knees.

“Attacking your sisters? _And_ your mother?” said Aleka in disgust. “You call _that_ honor?”

“Your bark was always worse than your bide, Aleka,” quipped Diana.

Before the larger Amazon could exert more of her strength, Diana jerked her head back and hit Aleka right in the nose. It was a somewhat crude tactic, but it worked. It stunned Aleka just long enough for Diana escape her grip, strike her in the torso with her fist, and hit her with a punishing roundhouse kick that sent the imposing woman crashing against a nearby tree.

Even though the other Amazons remained focused on Clark, they couldn’t help but be shocked by the sight of their princess attacking a sister, and for a man no less. They had trained all their lives to fight invaders, monsters, and titans on a whim. They never trained to fight one of their own, let alone someone destined to inherit the throne. Nobody was sure what to do other than maintain their defensive stance while Diana retrieved her mother’s sword and rushed towards Clark.

“Are you sure you know what you’re doing?” asked Clark, every bit as astonished as the Amazons.

“I’m sure,” she replied in complete confidence.

With Hippolyta still restrained, Diana positioned herself between Clark and the Amazon legion. Lacking armor and wielding only a lasso and a sword, she was incredibly outmatched. But she didn’t care. At the moment, she was the only Amazon on this island acting like a true warrior.

“Hear me, sisters! Stop this affront to our honor!” Diana proclaimed, now speaking with the authority of the princess. “Consider for a moment what you’re doing. This man has been on this island for weeks and has harmed no one. He has had ample opportunities. And he has demonstrated to me that he has ample ability as well, but has done no such thing. Yet you seek to condemn him anyways. Ask yourself, is that the act of a noble warrior?”

She had hoped her rhetoric, along with the weight her name carried, would at least get her sisters to back off slightly. Instead, it had the opposite effect. Now they looked even more enraged and not just towards Clark. They both had to take a step back towards the boat. Clark even kept his hands up, preparing to defend himself the moment the first shot was fired.

“I don’t think you’ve convinced them,” commented Clark.

“I suppose I had too much faith in my sisters,” said Diana in dismay.

“That’s because you overestimate the value of your title, Diana. You may be my daughter and the Princess of Themyscira, but you are still a child,” said Hippolyta, still bound by the lasso.

“Should that really matter?” retorted Diana. “Does my age make my words any less valid?”

“It’s not just your age, my daughter. It’s your limited experience. Look into the eyes of your fellow sisters. You’ll see in them the experiences they’ve had with men…experiences you’ve never had and couldn’t possibly understand. You’re right in one way. This man is not Hercules. But he’s still a man and our experiences have given us plenty of reasons not to trust his ilk.”

Diana stayed close to Clark, holding her sword up in a defensive stance as some of her sisters closed in. To her dismay, the hatred in their gazes confirmed her mother’s words. There was so much pain and resentment in all of them. To them, they weren’t looking at an innocent man. They were looking at a manifestation of that which had inflicted such torment. She knew the pain that Hercules inflicted had run deep, but she had never seen it on display like this. It meant there could be no peaceful resolution to this situation. One of them would have to make a painful decision.

“Kal…” said Diana under her breath as she continued to stare down her sisters.

“We’re not going to convince them,” said Clark anxiously. “There has to be another way. Maybe I can…”

“Go,” she told him in a tone that masked the pain of her decision.

“What? But what about…”

“I’ll hold them off. Just get back to your world. Get back and keep being the man I know you to be.”

Clark didn’t claim to know everything about Amazon culture, but he understood the implications of what she was suggesting. By fighting her sisters, she was committing yet another crime. Such a crime surely wouldn’t go unpunished. But the determination in her tone made it clear. She was willing to go that for him.

“Diana…” he said sadly.

“I’ll be fine. Just go!” she ordered.

As he stumbled back towards the boat, Hippolyta realized what her daughter was doing. Despise being bound by the lasso, she rose up and took command.

“Arrogant brat! Are you really going to oppose your own sisters?” yelled Hippolyta.

“You want to harm this man? You want to commit injustice in our name? You’ll have to go through me!” said Diana.

With a heavy heart, the Amazon queen scolded her daughter with the utmost disgust and made a decision of her own.

“Sisters, seize the princess! Don’t let the man get away!” she ordered.

“For Hera!” they all exclaimed.

The moments that followed unfolded in slow motion for Clark. As he reached his boat, Diana let out her own war cry and threw herself into the crowd of angry Amazons. This 17-year-old girl he had only known for a couple weeks was willing to fight this hard to save him. That made what he had to do next all the more painful.

While Diana’s attack drew most of the attention from the Amazon legion, Clark managed to get on the boat. Some of the Amazons shot arrows at him. They would have hit all over his body if he hadn’t slammed his fists together to create a powerful shockwave that blew them back. This display of strength stunned the Amazons long enough for him to shove the boat into the clear waters. Once he was in position, he was ready. But before he departed, he gazed towards Diana one last time.

She didn’t get a chance to do much fighting. She swung her sword a few times to deflect the incoming spear attacks. She even managed to shove off a shield attack and disarm one of her sisters that tried to sneak up behind her. But there were too many of them, even for someone of Diana’s tenacity.

Seven Amazons attacked at once, using their shields to knock Diana off balance. Then they all tackled her to the sandy shore, pinning on her stomach and restraining her limbs. With each Amazon bearing the same strength as her, she had no hope of escape. But she was still able to look back at him just long enough to see his sad yet grateful expression.

“Thank you, Diana,” said Clark, managing one last warm smile.

Then, with more Amazons closing in on him, Clark took a deep breath and let out a powerful gust of wind that sent a miniature cyclone towards the shore. It both stopped the oncoming attack and propelled him into the sea like a rocket. He accelerated fast, straining the makeshift boat in the process. But it held together and within seconds, the shores of Paradise Island became a distant sight. Once he expended his breath, he raised the sail and let the winds carry him away.

His escape was now complete. In the end, Diana kept her promise in helping him get off the island. It was bittersweet, knowing that he escaped while Diana faced the wrath of her mother and her sisters. But in her final gaze, he saw no regrets. He tried to take comfort in that, as well as all the wonderful moments he shared with her. Knowing he might never meet another woman like her again, those moments became all the more precious.

_‘So here I am…alone again. By accident, I meet a beautiful girl who actually understands me and accepts me for who I am. She embraces me, making me feel things I’ve never felt before. Then when it all goes horribly wrong, she risks her life and goes against her own family to do what she thought was right. That’s more than Superman has ever had to do. Guess that means I’ll have to be an even better man. It’s the only way I can honor such a wonderful woman.’_

* * *

**Later - Themyscira Dungeons**

Amazons weren’t used to battles that had no victors. They expected only two outcomes in a battle – victory or death. So when a battle ended with neither their blood nor that of their enemy’s being shed, nobody could truly claim victory.

The Amazons had been dishonored. Their homeland had been tainted by the presence of a man. Worst of all, their own princess had been corrupted. This woman, who they loved and respected dearly, had undermined the very code she swore to uphold. She was supposed to be their future queen, one who would have the strength to lead the Amazons into a new era. Now, under the Amazon Code, she was a deviant. Her heart and her commitment to her sisters were now in question. It left even the most hardened Amazons conflicted.

Yet still, the only one who could say she wasn’t conflicted in any way was Diana herself. As soon as Kal-El disappeared from sight, she was subdued. Everything after that transpired in a blur. She remembered her sisters yelling at her in anger. Some even cried. What she had done was so egregious that it hurt them in ways no beast or man ever could. As she now sat in a dungeon, her wrists chained with shackles made by Hephaestus himself, she could still hear their cries.

_“How could you, Diana? How could you!”_

_“A man! A man over your own sisters!”_

_“You dare call yourself an Amazon? You dare aspire to be our queen?”_

Their words cut deep, but Diana never responded to any of them. Even when they struck her and slapped her in their outrage, she remained silent. There was nothing to say. And nothing they said convinced her that she done anything wrong. However, it did force her to contemplate how her experiences with Kal-El would affect her moving forward and not just with respect to the fate that awaited her.

After she was subdued, she was escorted her back to the Temple of Athena. Along the way, every Amazon on the island gathered to watch the scene. They were all shocked at the sight of their princess being treated like a common criminal. Some of the Amazons, namely Aleka, loudly proclaimed her crimes. It was an act of public shaming, a powerful tactic in this close-knit community of warriors. They all shared in the outrage, but none could hide their dismay. Diana remembered seeing their sad eyes. Yet she showed no regret, even after they threw her into the dungeon in the basement of the temple.

“From princess to prisoner in just one day,” sighed Diana. “And it was all because of a man…a kind, caring, handsome man.”

It was strange. Her crimes were so egregious. She would surely pay a high price for them. Yet in recalling her experiences with Kal-El, she was more convinced than ever that she had acted honorably. This also promised to further complicate how she would deal with the judgment of her sisters and her mother.

Diana already knew what she was in for. Her mother was probably putting together a trial with her and a council of their best warriors. She would be brought before them, they would review her crimes, and a punishment would be handed down. Since she was the princess and a teenager, she might be afforded mercy, but she didn’t dare assume.

While Amazons did not execute their own, they never hesitated to administer harsh punishments. The worst, by far, was exile. It involved stripping an Amazon of their immortality and expelling them from Themyscira with nothing but the clothes on their back. Diana would probably avoid that fate, but other punishments, such as working in the Olympian mines or being kept out of battles, could be expected. Knowing her mother, Diana expected plenty of toil. She didn’t fear punishment for something she believed to be honorable. However, she did fear what this meant for her relationship with her mother and her sisters.

As Diana sat in the corner of her confined cell, resting her eyes and reliving the memories she shared with Kal-El, the chamber door finally opened and her mother walked in.

“Hello, Diana. I trust you’ve had time to settle in,” greeted Hippolyta, throwing in another parental scold.

Diana acknowledged her presence, but remained silent. She since become numb to such scolding. She hoped to make it clear that she would not be shamed into apologizing. Her mother seemed to get the message quickly.

“I was hoping we could talk. It’s been a long, trying day for all of us.”

“Speak for yourself,” muttered Diana under her breath.

“I’d still like to end it with at least some hope that tomorrow will be better. I don’t want one day to ruin a lifetime of love between me and my daughter. Don’t you want that too?”

Now she sounded less like the queen of the Amazons and more like a concerned mother. Diana finally allowed herself to feel uncomfortable with her situation. She looked up at her mother with solemn eyes, watching as she sat down on the cold stone floor next to her. Diana didn’t expect to garner much sympathy. Nobody became queen of the Amazons by being overly sympathetic. At the very least, they needed to come to an understanding.

“What’s done is done. We cannot undo it and we shouldn’t dwell on it more than we need to,” began Hippolyta.

“That’s easy to say when you’re not the one in shackles,” Diana pointed out.

“You won’t be wearing those shackles much longer. I’ve assembled a tribunal and scheduled your hearing for tomorrow morning.”

“How much more public shaming can I expect? I get the sense that my sisters have plenty more to inflict.”

“There will be none. I’ve made sure of that,” said Hippolyta strongly.

“How can you be so sure?” scoffed Diana.

“Because before I came here, I issued a decree,” she replied. “No one is to scold, insult, or demean you once the sun rises tomorrow. I do not wish for this ordeal to become worse than it already has. I want us to heal rather than fester.”

Diana was somewhat surprised. She expected her mother to be far less forgiving. Being the princess, she was supposed to be held to a higher standard. This was the first sign that her mother might be willing to talk about this issue. However, she didn’t expect her to be too reasonable.

Hippolyta still struggled to look her daughter in the eye, knowing she was still jaded and distant. She had never been this upset with her daughter before. She didn’t like it in the slightest. She hadn’t shown it earlier, but in hearing those angry curses from her sisters, it hurt her almost as much as Diana. As queen, she had to be stern in treating her daughter like any other Amazon that had transgressed against their warrior code. As a mother, her sorrow overshadowed her anger. She had raised Diana from birth with the utmost love. One transgression shouldn’t taint that love.

“I’m not going to let them exile you, Diana,” Hippolyta told her, still speaking in as reasonable tone as a queen could manage. “There will be some that wish to see you banished. I intend to remind them that what you did was not a bannishable offense. Your actions, egregious as they were, did not lead to any other Amazons being harmed.”

“And yet I heard words like _treason_ being yelled quite frequently,” said Diana.

“They were upset. Do not mistake their outrage for their honest sentiment,” said Hippolyta.

“I understand that they’re upset. Now that I’ve had time to think about it, I also understand that they’re hurt. I did something that they all saw as a serious offense. I’ve been taught all my life that it was a serious offense and I’m not going to argue that it wasn’t.”

“But you’re not going to apologize for it, are you?”

Diana laughed to herself and shook her head. As uptight as her mother could be at times, she knew her very well. She had been the one to instill in her that strong spirit that drove her to be such a great warrior. She probably never expected that spirit to lead her to do something like this, but she didn’t belabor the situation. She remained focused on moving forward and Diana needed to share that focus.

“You already know how I feel about my actions, mother,” said Diana. “I’m not going to say more than I’ve already said. I’m not going to make excuses either. I still believe that I did the right thing by helping that man.”

“That’s still the one part of this ordeal that I struggle to process,” said Hippolyta with a hint of frustration.

“Which part? That I dared to do what I felt was right or that I dared to question the merits of the Amazon Code?”

“The part where you chose to lie to your sisters for the sake of a man…a man who you barely knew, yet trusted more than your own mother.”

There was plenty of pain in her tone. The mere mention of a man was enough to remind her of the pain she endured under Hercules. It clouded her judgment and heightened her emotions. This was where the conversation broke down between Diana, her mother, and the rest of her sisters. This was what she had to confront if they were going to get through this.

“I’m not going to retell the same story you’ve heard many times before,” Hippolyta continued. “I know this man was not Hercules. I don’t doubt that he’s different from him. But who he is doesn’t matter. He’s still a man.”

“So what he _is_ matters more than what he _does_? Do you not see the problem with that?” questioned Diana.

“It’s not a problem. It is the standard by which men are held in the eyes of the Amazon. We are warriors. As such, our standard must be higher than those of man’s world. To let our guard down, even when it feels like the right thing to do, isn’t just a threat to who we are as warriors. It is opens the door for more tragedy.”

“You’re not going to convince me that by helping this man, I put our sisters at risk,” said Diana.

“I’m not trying to convince you. I’m trying to make it clear to you that we must hold ourselves to that great standard. Hera blessed the Amazons with great power and she expects us to use that power to become great warriors. And part of being a great warrior is staying true to the warrior code that we have sworn to uphold.”

“Does that code mean not trusting our hearts when it tells us what we know to be right?” asked Diana.

“Do not mistake your heart with your spirit, Diana. That is a weakness that youth and inexperience often confound,” said Hippolyta. “You might think your heart was in the right place, but you lack the full perspective.”

“So I cannot trust my own thoughts?”

“That’s not what I’m saying. What you did might have felt right on some levels, but that’s exactly why we adhere to the Amazon Code. It provides guidance that ensures our hearts do not lead us astray. And I need to know that my daughter is not going to drift away from her sisters…or her mother.”

The strain on her heart and spirit kept building. With every word her mother said, the extent of her actions grew. Even if she did the right thing, the burden it wrought was greater than Diana could have imagined. It shouldn’t have been this complicated, helping someone in need and acting honorably. But there was no escaping these complications at this point.

Diana briefly looked over at her mother, who still appeared so conflicted. She then looked down at the shackles binding her wrists. There had been times when she questioned the Amazon Code, even before she met Kal-El. Her mother and her sisters convinced her that this was the product of a young, inexperienced mind. Most of her sisters were immortal, having memories and experiences far greater than anything she could imagine. She tried to convince herself that she understood their perspective. These shackles on her wrist were proof that she didn’t.

Between her mother and the shackles that bound her, Diana had to make a choice. On some levels, her mother and sisters were correct. The experience she had with one man wasn’t enough to override the crimes of his kind. Kal had even demonstrated that he was no ordinary man. For all she knew, ordinary men were as detestable as her sisters claimed. But that was the problem and in some ways, it was also the solution. In that context, Diana made her choice, knowing it would likely lead to more complications.

“I’m not going to push you away, mother. I am an Amazon. This experience has not changed that. _Nothing_ can change that,” said Diana, finally speaking with strength worthy of a princess. “I concede that my youth does affect my actions, but I will not use that as an excuse.”

“I wouldn’t want you to either. You’re better than that, Diana,” said Hippolyta.

“And I understand that I have to be better. I am not just an Amazon. I am the princess. That means I have to hold myself to a higher standard, especially when it comes to transgressions.”

“That’s what the tribunal is expecting to hear. Just saying that will help reassure them.”

“But I cannot tell them everything they want to hear,” Diana went on. “I will not gravel. I will not beg for mercy. What’s done is done. They know how I feel about it. You know how I feel about it.”

“You’ll have to find a way to say that with less arrogance,” said the Queen.

“I will do what I can, that I promise. But I cannot promise that I will immediately adopt the perspective of you and my sisters. Like you said, I am young. And this experience has _influenced_ me in ways I never could have imagined.”

“My main concern is how far that influence will go. What can you say to convince me and your sisters that it will not undermine your loyalty to your sisters and your adherence to our code?”

“I’m not sure there’s much I can say, mother. But I intend to make clear that this influence has revealed to me just how much I need to grow. I am still a child in their eyes and yours. Part of holding myself to a higher standard involves working harder to gain that perspective you mentioned.”

Despite the shackles still binding her wrists, Diana scooted closer to her mother so that she could grasp her hand. It was the first show of affection they had managed since this trying ordeal began. It seemed to bring relief to her mother’s distress. It wasn’t as much as she wished she could give, but it conveyed her sincerity.

“I _want_ to be the Amazon warrior that I know I’m capable of being. I _want_ to be the Amazon warrior that you and my sisters want me to be,” said Diana. “If having this experience and dealing with the consequences will aid me in that effort, then I accept every punishment and every burden I receive.”

“You’re already sounding more responsible,” said Hippolyta with a slight smile. “I just hope that we can eventually put that behind us.”

“As do I, but that doesn’t mean we should forget about it. I want this to make me stronger. I want this to make _us_ stronger. To do that, I only ask that you and my sisters give me a chance to learn from this experience. I know it’s unreasonable, me asking for anything in my position…”

She was about to start pleading, something she never did before. Hippolyta, not willing to let her daughter forsake her Amazon pride, silenced her and embraced Diana for the first time since this ordeal began. It was a conflicted, yet genuine show of love. It helped mark the first step they needed to take to get through this affair.

“You don’t need to ask for anything, Diana,” said Hippolyta. “You’ve never asked for any favors and I don’t expect you to start now. Everything you say you want is a noble aspiration, but these are things that can’t be given. They must be earned.”

“But will I even get a chance to earn it?” asked Diana.

“Every Amazon is given a chance. I understand this and I intend to remind the tribunal as well. That chance you seek will begin as soon as your punishment is administered. You’ll have to toil more than you would have had this incident never occurred. You’ll have to endure the added scrutiny of your fellow Amazons every step of the way.”

“I’m fully willing to accept those struggles. I hope I’ve made that clear.”

“You have, Diana. You’ve also made clear that you have the heart and the spirit to be that great warrior. I want you to achieve that greatness, as any mother would. And I’ll stand by your side and love you as I always have.”

“And I still cherish that love. Don’t think for a second this changes that,” said Diana sincerely.

“Then trust in me and your sisters to guide you so that you have that perspective and that experience that unites us as Amazons. Let’s use this to make ourselves stronger, not tear us apart.”

Hippolyta embraced her daughter closer. This time, Diana returned the feeling. What she experienced with Kal-El didn’t change how she felt about her mother and her sisters. She remained dedicated to them, even though her previous assumptions had been challenged. There was still so much about her sisters and the Amazon traditions that she cherished. She never contemplated rejecting them or her mother. It was just going to be a lot harder now.

“I trust in you, mother. I _will_ become stronger,” said Diana, sincere emotions mixing with her bold words.

“Then we need not worry about the tribunal tomorrow. From here on out, I say we focus on moving forward.”

“Agreed!”

The tension finally eased. Hippolyta felt a wave of relief, knowing her daughter had the determination and spirit to move beyond this ordeal. She still worried that her experiences would continue to affect her. But like a true Amazon, she buried her worries and fears under the hope and love she had for Diana. She believed she could get through this and become the proud Amazon that would one day lead her sisters. She just had to prove that she was strong enough to overcome the corrupting influences of man’s world.

Diana still shared in her mother’s hope for her. She didn’t expect that to change in light of this incident. However, she refused to cast aside these feelings and reservations she gained in being with Kal-El. She wanted to believe that it would all make sense once she reached a certain age and earned the strength she sought. Whether she would achieve that perspective remained to be seen, but Diana knew she was in for a struggle.

As she and her mother prepared to move forward, Diana’s thoughts drifted back towards Kal. She couldn’t allow herself to think too much about him, otherwise those feelings she felt around him would only further complicate her struggle. But despite the sentiments of her mother and sisters, she believed that he was the good man he claimed to be. She also believed that the man’s world would be better because of him.

_‘I hope you got home safely, Kal. I also hope you’ll cherish our time together as much as I did, regardless of how it ended. I’ve still got my battles to fight and you have yours. I don’t know if our paths will ever cross again, but I hope I’ve helped make you stronger because you’ve already made me stronger.’_

* * *

**Smallville, Kansas - One Week Later**

Clark never expected to return to Smallville this soon. He never thought he would be able to get over the death of his parents to a point where he could return without being too great a strain on his heart. But after his experience on Paradise Island, his outlook had changed. He made himself endure the strain. He had to confront these painful issues to become a better man and a better Superman.

“Home sweet home, but not for much longer,” sighed Clark as he stood at the end of what used to be the driveway into the Kent family farm.

It had been a long journey since he left Themyscira and not just in terms of the distance traveled. After making it away from the island, he drifted for about a day and a half until an ocean liner found him. From there, he hitched a ride to a port in Athens, Greece where he spent the next few days resting and recuperating. There was a lot to digest and even more to contemplate.

At first, he worried about Diana. Her sisters were pretty upset with her. At times, he even contemplated going back to help her. However, Clark trusted that Diana knew what she was doing when she helped him escape. She made a sacrifice for him, giving him a chance to get away before the conflict could escalate. It was the first time someone made sure that he didn’t have to fight. For once, he didn’t have to be Superman. Instead, he inspired Diana, a beautiful young woman who had been brought up to never trust a man, to do what she believed to be right. That experience and the impact she had on him led Clark to make some big decisions.

As Clark hopped various trains and planes to make his way back home, he laid out a plan to turn those decisions into actions. The first step involved changing what it meant to be Clark Kent and Superman.

“Ma…Pa…you used to tell me that no matter how big the world seemed, there was always room to grow. I’m sorry I didn’t understand that sooner,” said Clark distantly.

With a heavy heart, he walked up the driveway and past the house where he grew up as Clark Kent. Along the way, a number of vivid memories played out in his mind. He looked out over the now vacant corn fields and recalled the times he and Lana Lang would chase each other. He then looked up at the window to his bedroom and remembered watching the stars with his father, often using his telescopic vision to describe celestial events that could not be seen with human eyes. He also looked towards the windows leading into the kitchen and he could still smell the intoxicating aroma of his mother’s pies. All these memories became painful after they died, but now they took on a new meaning.

For a moment, Clark just stood near the front steps and looked up at the now vacant house. Officially, it was still in his name. After his parents died, he inherited it. However, he knew he couldn’t keep it. The house still had plenty of debt. His father told him that much of it came from years ago when they took out a second mortgage to pay for a fertility treatment that they hoped would allow them to have a child. Even though it didn’t work, they often joked how it panned out in other ways. Now the bank had a lien on the house. A sign had been posted on the front door for months now. Clark, in his grief, never got around to decide what to do with this house. Now he had a plan.

“Five generations of farming and this is how it ends,” he said sadly. “I know you two wanted more for me. I just wish I could have given you more when it mattered.”

With a solemn sigh, Clark removed the flyer from the door and noted the phone number at the bottom. This was the number he would have to call to inform the bank that he had no intention of paying off the lean. He was prepared to sell the farm, knowing it would probably sell just enough to pay down the debt. But that would be the easy part. His biggest challenge lay hidden in the barn.

After folding up the flyer and putting it in his pocket, Clark made his way over to the barn and opened the large doors. He then moved aside several large tool boxes and a heavy chest containing farm equipment to reveal a large compartment built into the floor. This compartment, which had once been a storm cellar, had housed the Kryptonian ship that brought him here when he was a baby. As he opened up the compartment and laid eyes on the ship, Clark took a moment to gather his thoughts.

Few men in their early twenties faced predicaments like this. He knew he would face plenty when he decided to be Superman. This would be by far the most daunting to date.

_‘Diana showed me a lot of things – things other than how even Superman can be awkward around pretty girls. She never ran from who she was or where she came from, but she didn’t let it define her. She didn’t let it stop her from doing the right thing. That’s something my parents taught me and I’ve negated that because of my own personal sorrows.’_

Clark carefully approached the ship and placed his hand atop the distinct S-symbol near the hatch. When his parents first showed this to him, his presence activated the crystals inside, which revealed to him his Kryptonian heritage. He learned from these revelations that the S that came to stand for Superman also stood for hope. He thought he knew what it meant to inspire hope. His experience on Themyscira revealed that he needed to inspire more.

_‘No more excuses. No more aimless wandering. I need to embrace who I am – Kal-El and Clark Kent. That means I can’t keep clinging to the past. I need to lay a new foundation. I need to sew new crops, as my father would say. I can’t do that here. I can’t even do it in Metropolis. I need someplace where I can figure this out…a safe place where I can be who I am and learn to be a better Superman.’_

Using his own flesh, to which the ship had been tailored, he activated its systems. Within moments, it lit up. All the lights, crystals, and alien technology came to life. There was a lot within these systems he had to figure out. For a number of years, he had been afraid to learn too much about himself. He couldn’t afford to be afraid anymore. Channeling the same bravery he saw in Diana, Clark climbed inside the ship, activated the main controls, and prepared for the next stage in his life.

_‘Time to fire this thing up. I’ll need some place to store this ship and its technology. I’ll need to keep it protected. Hell, I’ll need a fortress for some of this stuff. Too bad I don’t have my own island like the Amazons. Maybe I’ll find some place up north.’_

* * *

**Olympus – Ares’ Chamber**

Being the God of War used to be a pretty good deal. Compared to the other gods on Olympus, Ares had it pretty easy. Humanity always seemed to waging war in some form or another. Sometimes it was political. Sometimes it stemmed from religious or ethnic differences. Sometimes it was just a product of humanity’s inability to get along. For most of human history, he never lacked his share of opportunities to influence war to his choosing. The extent and intensity of these wars helped fuel his power. Now, for the first time in many centuries, Ares had reason to be concerned.

“Well this is certainly an interesting development,” said the God of War as he witnessed a series of scenes unfold within a vision portal.

Olympus was abuzz with news of the incident on Themyscira. It was practically scandalous and for once it didn’t involve Zeus fathering another illegitimate offspring. Diana, princess of the Amazons, had become smitten with a man. It certainly raised concerns among his fellow gods. Any discord among the Amazons affected them because they relied on them so heavily to combat the chaos from Tartarus. But Ares was more interested in the man himself and not the affect he had on Diana.

After re-watching the incident where Diana defended the man so he could escape, Ares reviewed other exploits of this man. The muses of Olympus often kept records of certain developments in the mortal world and this man, who the mortals had dubbed Superman, had been having quite an impact.

There had been plenty of individuals who had wielded god-like power in the past. There were even plenty of individuals in the present with such power. However, none had the potential and the spirit that this Superman had. Based on what he observed, this being could end up wielding power that would rival Zeus himself.

This power, combined with his spirit, would have a profound impact on the mortal world. He carried himself as a protector, one who sought to end conflicts and save lives. So far, most of his efforts were small, relegated to that of another costumed vigilante in a world that had plenty. Now, in wake of his experience on Themyscira, he might have greater ambitions that would eventually affect him.

At the moment, he had two vision portals open. One showed an image from the past, depicting Diana teaching him some basic Amazonian fighting techniques. One showed an image of the present, tracking the alien ship as it took off from a small farm and flew north towards the arctic. The ship was so fast and so powerful that even the monitoring power of Olympus couldn’t keep up with it. And if a being this powerful could influence the Amazons and avoid the scrutiny of the gods, then that could present problems.

“So this is where the God of War resides when his sword had been dulled. It would only be somewhat less pathetic if you ran off crying to Aphrodite again,” greeted the snide yet familiar tone of his brother as he entered his chamber.

“Hello Apollo,” greeted Ares indifferently. “Shouldn’t you be busy giving mortals sunburn and skin cancer?”

“That stopped being fun centuries ago. Besides, I got tired of listening to my fellow gods drone on and on about the uproar with the Amazons,” said Apollo. “I thought I would entertain by watching your feeble attempts to work around Father’s decrees.”

“I always questioned your tastes in entertainment. It’s no wonder father has never trusted you with more than being a glorified firefly,” quipped Ares.

“As if he would ever trust you with a war that actually mattered? Seriously, how much more can you get out of these pestilent mortals. You must be bored by now with that patch of desert the mortals call the Middle East.”

“I only wish I could be so bored. While the rest of our dysfunctional family obsesses over the misdeeds of one Amazon, they foolishly overlook the potential of the man behind those misdeeds.”

Apollo remained only partially interested at best. Ares didn’t care and ignored his presence as he brought up more viewing portals. Apollo was another Olympian who didn’t care for Zeus’s decrees. He also enjoyed going behind his father’s back and pursuing his own selfish exploits in the mortal world. Most of the time, it lead to little more than a passing frustration among the other Olympians. Zeus was content to merely censure Apollo’s activities rather than risk additional conflict amongst the gods. While Ares usually distanced himself from Apollo, this was one issue that might end up involving them both.

While Apollo watched on in bemusement, Ares directed the viewing portals to recount more of this Superman’s exploits. He noted various activities all over the world, most of which took place in a city known as Metropolis. His actions mostly involved stopping petty crime and taking on authority figures that feared his power. He came off as an overly idealistic young man with a hero complex and gross immaturity. But he had the power and the means to become so much more.

“This man is no mere mortal. They call him Superman,” said Ares. “His power is vast and appears to be growing. In fact, his power is so vast that he could, in theory, challenge Zeus.”

“He would have to get in line,” scoffed Apollo.

“Well unlike others in those line, he might actually succeed. But since he’s concerned primarily with the mortal world, Father could care less.”

“And we should?”

“I certainly would if I were you. His powers are fueled by the rays of the sun. That means if he ever did concern himself with our affairs, you would be least equipped to confront him.”

Apollo scolded his uncle for such a comment, but he now took a greater interest in this mortal. He didn’t usually concern himself with possible power struggles among mortals or Olympians. However, in seeing some of this Superman’s feats, he could easily imagine him being a problem for Olympus.

“As if the mortals didn’t have enough petty do-gooders,” groaned Apollo. “Why must they be so bad at wielding the power of the gods?”

“They rarely understand the nature of such power, let alone how to wield it. The Superman is in a different class. I see from his encounter with Diana that he is genuine…too genuine in some respects.”

“That’s not the words the other gods would use to describe him. I distinctly Aphrodite used rather _colorful_ language.”

“I doubt such language acknowledged the possible impact this mortal could have,” said Ares, maintaining a deadly serious tone. “He doesn’t just seek to do good. He wants to make a bigger difference in the affairs of mortal. He wants to end conflicts, protect the innocent, and inspire other mortals to follow his example. If he has his way, there will be no more war. There would be no conflict among mortals.”

“And that would put you out of a job, wouldn’t it? Is that what this is about? You think this mortal threatens your very existence?” said Apollo, who couldn’t resist taunting his uncle. “That must be disconcerting, the God of War fearing the acts of a mortal.”

Ares sneered at the God of the Sun, but knew it would have little effect. Apollo enjoyed frustrating his fellow gods. It seemed to be his only source of entertainment these days. Ares refused to give him the satisfaction. However, his snide remarks weren’t wholly inaccurate. As he expanded the vision portal to display a larger depiction of the mortal known as Superman, he assessed the threat before him.

“Your efforts to further demean me won’t succeed, Apollo. While I know you’ll argue otherwise, losing my purpose is not my greatest concern,” said Ares. “War, in all its horrific forms, is a byproduct of the balance between order and chaos. To disrupt it is to disrupt the very nature of the heavens.”

“Yes, I’m sure you’re _so_ worried about preserving the natural order,” said Apollo dryly.

“That order is a significant part of the foundation on which Olympus rests. Zeus refuses to see it because he seeks to minimize our entanglement with the mortal world, but I will not stand by and let this mortal undermine that foundation. He may have forbidden me from involving myself in the affairs of the Amazons, but the affairs of this Superman might end up bearing greater fruit.”

“It sounds to me like you already have a plan,” Apollo commented.

“So what if I did? Are you going to run crying to Zeus and accuse me of false transgressions?” said Ares, throwing in a subtle threat to dissuade his nephew.

“Are you kidding? This might be the most entertaining thing I’ve witnessed in centuries! Consider me an active observer. If, by chance, you happen to be right about this mortal, I want a front row seat to the action.”

The God of War could do without Apollo’s attitude, but he could deal with it. No god ever accomplished anything on Olympus without being able to tolerate frustrating personalities. He could care less what Apollo thought of his concerns. Even if every god on Olympus stood against him, he would be vindicated.

With the image of Superman now dominating his chamber, Ares studied every feature of this powerful mortal. It wouldn’t be enough to subdue or contain this being. He had to figure out a way to ensure that Superman would serve his goals in propagating his war. If all went accordingly, even Zeus would not be able to stop what he planned to unleash.

* * *

**Up next: Daze Gone By**


	4. Daze Gone By

**Strangers In Paradise**  
**Chapter 4: Daze Gone By**

**AN: This chapter takes place five years after the events of the previous chapter.**

* * *

**Themyscira – Training Arena**

The greatest warriors were willing to take the longest road to achieve victory. That was the mantra for every Amazon warrior from the day they picked up a sword. They conditioned themselves to brave every hardship, endure every struggle, and defeat every enemy. This rigid warrior code had served many Amazons well through many battles. However, none had to fight the kinds of battles that Diana fought after she was convicted and punished for aiding a male trespasser on Themyscira.

This crime, and the sentence imposed on her, was supposed to set her back on her path to becoming a true Amazon warrior. It was supposed to shame and discredit her until she earned back the trust of her sisters. However, this was not what happened.

If anything, the punishment handed down by her mother and the scorn conveyed by her sisters only emboldened Diana. In the years that followed, she grew from an immature teenage girl to imposing woman who did not back down from a fight and endured every hardship to achieve her goal. That still didn’t stop some of her sisters from provoking.

“How many more times are you going to do this, Aleka? What are you trying to prove?” asked Diana, always poised in the face of new challenges.

“Why must you ask questions I’ve been answering for the past five years?” replied Aleka with an angry determination that would have made Hades himself shudder. “Now choose a damn weapon. No lassos. No shields. No fancy armor. Just you and me…one weapon…one fight.”

“Very well, since you’re so adept at being unreasonable…I choose the sword.”

“I was hoping you’d say that. It wouldn’t be a true battle if one of us didn’t walk away wounded.”

Aleka couldn’t retrieve a standard Amazon sword from the training racks fast enough. She tossed one to Diana as she joined her in the training ring. Officially, training was supposed to have ended. Diana, and every other Amazon scheduled to use the arena, had gone through their routines. Once again, Diana bested everyone she sparred with. Where others tired, she endured. Where others showed skill, she showed even greater skill. For a woman who had once been convicted of high crimes against the Amazons, it should’ve have been impossible. As such, Aleka refused to let it stand.

As the imposing Amazon stood in the training circle with Diana, she assessed the challenge before her. Even under the light of the setting sun, she could tell that this was not the same woman she once looked down on five years ago. Diana had grown both in stature and in form. She was taller than many of her fellow Amazons, having grown into a body that embodied a perfect feminine physique. It was a byproduct of rigorous training and a drive that set her apart from her sister. It had even drawn envy from some. But Aleka intended to prove that she was still the same scorned Amazon that once betrayed her sisters’ trust.

The two women took a battle stance in the training circle. A few Amazons, who were either too tired or too wounded to train anymore, stayed behind to watch. It was an unspoken understanding, the animosity between these two women. While Diana had done plenty to regain the respect of her fellow sisters, some refused to forgive her past transgressions.

“She who draws first blood will claim victory!” proclaimed Aleka.

“Or she who yields, whichever comes first,” added Diana, who always insisted on adding that provision.

“So be it,” said the bigger Amazon. “Just know that you’ll have to shed a lot more than blood to make me yield.”

“I wouldn’t expect anything less.”

The imposing woman let out a battle cry and attacked Diana, charging her and slashing at her with savage fury. The princess countered, dodging and blocking the initial onslaught. She knew she could match everything Aleka threw at her, except for her fury. That was something she could never match, but she understood where it came from.

As she fought off Aleka’s attacks, Diana recounted the struggles that had led her to furious clashes such as this. Aleka had been present the day her mother and the tribunal handed down her sentence for aiding a male trespasser and allowing herself to be corrupted. It was not a lenient sentence, nor was it the harshest. Diana was forced to endure hard labor in the Olympian mines, a common punishment for certain offenses. She was also required to clean stables, sharpen weapons, and polish statutes. They were menial tasks meant to humiliate and degrade her, but these toils were not the worst.

The part of her punishment that Diana hated most was submission. This was the second worst punishment an Amazon could receive after exile. It involved her walking around with her wrists bound by magic shackles, a reminder to all that she had transgressed. She even had to wear these shackles during training, which had been increased considerably in terms of quantity and intensity.

If that weren’t a great enough indignation, she was also required to lose every sparring match and every contest in which she participated. It didn’t matter how hard she fought or how much she outwitted her opponents. She still had to end the session with her bowing in submission. It was demeaning and every Amazon rightfully looked down on her.

However, Diana refused to let her punishment hold her back. She promised the day her punishment began that this would make her stronger. Her commitment to keeping that promise showed in how she dealt with Aleka’s fury.

“You fight with such skill…such passion…such focus,” grunted Aleka as she slashed relentlessly, throwing in a kick to deflect one of Diana’s counterattacks, “But I can see through your ruse.”

“You delude yourself with your anger, Aleka,” retorted Diana, easily enduring the kick and striking with attacks of her own.

“Do I? Tell me, Princess…do you believe you’ve earned everything you’ve gained?”

“I don’t see any blood and I’m not even out of breath. You tell me,” quipped Diana.

“Is that so?” said Aleka skeptically as she blocked her incoming sword slashes. “Because I say you’re still lying to yourself and your sisters. Fight as many battles as you want. You still fight for yourself and not for us.”

Her harsh words were coupled with more harsh attacks. Aleka let out another battle cry as she attempted to use her strength and body weight to push Diana towards the edge of the ring. Diana managed to evade her and maintain her poise, but shutting out her words would prove to be a much greater challenge.

Aleka’s angry tone ignored the context of Diana’s situation. As part of her submission, Diana was barred from participating in any battles during her sentence. This was akin to denying an Amazon basic sustenance. It meant she was often left behind, locked in her quarters with nothing but her thoughts. As much as this pained her, Diana made good use of this time. It allowed her time to contemplate things that no other Amazon dared contemplate. Rather than dwell on her punishment, she gained a greater perspective. That perspective showed in the way she carried herself after her punishment had ended.

When that day finally came, she and her sisters celebrated. Hippolyta led a ceremony in the Temple of Athena. The moment the sun set, her shackles were removed and she was allowed to wield a sword again. This symbolized the completion of her sentence, which earned her atonement in the eyes of the gods and her fellow Amazons. Her mother made it clear that they were not to chastise her for her crimes anymore. As far as she was concerned, the incident was in the past and need not be mentioned ever again.

While Diana never spoke of it, she never lost her new perspective. It affected the way she fought, the way she trained, and the way she grew as a woman. The results made her formidable in a way that set her apart from her fellow Amazons. They might not acknowledge it, but Aleka was always eager to point it out. She got her chance when their swords clashed between them and they attempted to overpower one another near the center of the training circle.

“Look at yourself. The way you stand, the way you move, and even the way you grip your sword…it is not the poise of a woman seeking to become part of something greater,” taunted Aleka.

“You observe all this rather than focus on your opponent? No wonder you haven’t bested me in two years,” retorted Diana with a sneer.

“Yet in all that time, you still refuse to see it yourself. And since you’re no longer an immature teenager, you have no excuse!”

Aleka began fighting dirty, striking Diana with a knee to the torso. The princess endured it, but lost her poise. Aleka tried to go in for the finishing blow, overpowering Diana with her strength and slashing at her with her sword. Again, Diana evaded, barely avoiding the edge of the ring in the process. She tried going for a finishing blow as well, but Aleka countered again and shoved her back.

“I don’t make excuses, Aleka. I never have,” shouted Diana.

“It’s even worse than that. You don’t even _try_ to make them. You just carry on like you’re no different than us. But you’re not!”

The powerful Amazon attacked again, this time with greater tenacity. Their swords clashed with loud clangs, even causing sparks at times. It was far more intense than any normal training regimen, but Diana had long abandoned the standards of a normal Amazon. That was a big reason behind Aleka’s anger, but it wasn’t the only reason.

Diana continued to block and counter Aleka’s attacks, not letting her throw much strength into each strike. She kept moving around the training circle, not letting Aleka dig her feet in or gain any leverage. At one point, their swords clashed again in a battle of strength. This time, Aleka fought dirty and head-butted Diana right in the face. It didn’t draw any blood, but it did disorient her enough to put her back on the defensive.

“You think you can compensate by seeking all these blessed abilities,” Aleka went on as she continued slashing away, chipping away at Diana’s defenses. “The gods already blessed you with greater strength, durability, reflexes, senses, and stamina. But that wasn’t enough, was it?”

“I did not seek. I _earned_!” grunted Diana as she blocked each slash with increasing strain.

“Keep telling yourself that. Did you really _need_ Hermes to grant you the power of flight? Or the power of speed?”

“You could’ve had it too,” Diana pointed out.

“But you didn’t stop there, did you? You also needed a rapport with animals. Then you needed empathy and wisdom from Athena. Honestly, Diana, are you really _that_ insecure? Must you seek vindication from _everyone_ on Olympus?”

At this point, both warriors had strained themselves. Diana finally mustered enough strength to push Aleka back when she tried to overpower her again. This time they both stumbled to the edge of the training ring, their heels barely hovering over the line. The two women gripped their swords intently, still seeking to draw first blood. Even as Aleka recounted the skills and abilities Diana had gained over the past five years, she did not see that as a mark of superiority.

“But innate ability still wasn’t enough, was it?” Aleka continued, despite being short of breath. “When the Queen held a contest for the newly minted Bracelets of Submission, you made it a point to obtain them. You did the same for the Lasso of Truth. You even sought that ridiculous golden tiara you insist on wearing into battle. I still say it makes you look foolish.”

“If I recall, I used it to blind a cyclops and prevent an incursion from the gates of Thanatos. It can’t be _that_ foolish,” retorted Diana, still clutching her sword and ready to fight.

“It looks even more foolish when you wear it with that so-called battle attire you wear. Between the ridiculous beast plate, the red and blue color scheme, and the ill-matched boots – you give the impression that you’re too good for traditional Amazonian armor.”

“My choice of attire doesn’t make me a great warrior.”

“But your choice in and of itself reveals your true nature,” spat Aleka.

The imposing Amazon launched her most ferocious attack yet. She yelled out with the frustrations and animosity that every other Amazon could only suppressed, charging towards Diana and going right for the finishing blow. She attempted to stab her at first, going right for her core. One drop of blood wouldn’t be enough. It had to be more to prove her point.

Diana still couldn’t match her ferocity, but she never lost focus. She continued blocking and evading. That was all she could do because Aleka did not allow her any opportunities to counter. She was so fast and relentless that she couldn’t even get close with her sword. To Aleka, this was no longer about training. This was her trying to prove a point.

“An Amazon is supposed to embrace her sisters! Not push them away!” yelled Aleka as she continued her relentless attack. “They seek unity, not selfishness! Cohesion, not discord!”

“I seek…all of that,” argued Diana.

“Do you?” she questioned. “Or do you seek something else? Something beyond sisterhood?”

Her words finally got under Diana’s skin. This caused her to miss blocking one of Aleka’s slashes, forcing her to evade it instead. This threw her off-balance, allowing Aleka to throw in a punch to her core that forced her down to one knee. Now with height and leverage, she hacked away with her sword, forcing Diana to keep blocking. This effectively wore her down while Aleka continued with her harsh words.

“You insult us all with your ruse!” shouted Aleka. “If being an Amazon isn’t enough for you, then you don’t deserve to call yourself one. Yet you aspire to be our queen?”

“No Aleka…I aspire for something greater,” grunted Diana.

She kept enduring her attack, letting Aleka to vent her impassioned anger. Every Amazon that dared to watch dreaded the outcome. Either their princess would be wounded or Aleka would overwhelm herself into submission. But this was not the outcome that Diana sought. She intended to end this in a way that would be honorable.

Pushing the stamina that had grown to such immense levels in recent years, Diana blocked and deflected every one of Aleka’s attacks. She kept goading her with her gaze, fueling more outrage in the process. At this point, sparks were flying whenever their swords clashed and dirty sweat dripped down their faces. She even noticed hers cracking somewhat under the force of Aleka’s slashes. That meant she had to make her move soon. Eventually, she saw her opportunity and she took it.

With one last angry battle cry, Aleka attempted a punishing slash to break her defenses. This time, Diana didn’t block it. She narrowly ducked out of the way, feeling the blade lightly graze her hair in the process. Not missing a beat, she delivered a punishing kick to the side of Aleka’s right knee. The force of the blow caused it to bend awkwardly, unleashing a world of pain within the imposing Amazon. As she howled out in agony, Diana shot up and delivered a powerful strike to the sword, knocking it right out of her hand. She could have ended the battle there, but that wouldn’t get her point across.

Despite her pain, Aleka still attempted to fight back. Diana easily dodged one last desperate swing before delivering a swift kick to the torso that knocked the imposing Amazon flat on her back. She tried to get up, but Diana effectively pinned her, keeping one foot on her free hand and the other on her chest. She then put the tip of her sword right at Aleka’s throat, ensuring that the slightest twitch would draw blood. This didn’t just ensure victory. It gave Diana a chance to address her scathing remarks.

“I know what you’re trying to do, Aleka,” said Diana strongly, despite being short of breath. “You’re not the first to attempt it. I doubt you’ll be the last. Pick as many petty battles as you want. You will _not_ get the victory you seek.”

“Speak for yourself,” scoffed Aleka, undaunted by her words and her state of near-defeat.

“You see my actions over these past five years as an affront to the Amazons, but nothing could be further from the truth. I don’t seek new arms, greater skill, or different attire to set myself apart. I do so because I understand something that I didn’t understand in my youth.”

“As if you understood _anything_ in your youth,” muttered Aleka.

“I must hold myself to a higher standard. I must raise the bar for all my sisters, not just for myself,” continued Diana. “Say what you will, but I want the Amazons to be great warriors. However, I don’t believe that’s possible if we continue to adhere to principles that contradict and confound our honor.”

“You dare question our honor?” said Aleka, daring Diana with her eyes to cut her.

“What good is honor if we don’t remind ourselves why it matters? If we don’t question it, then how do we know we even have it?”

“And actually you think you have it?”

“Only to the extent that I’m willing to fight harder for it. And if you truly understand that, then you’ll yield so I won’t have to cut you. Even you can agree that there is no honor in shedding the blood of a fellow sister.”

Diana effectively turned the argument against Aleka. Still outraged and defiant, she tried pushing back against the princess, but this only added to her pain. Diana pressed her foot down on her wrist harder and stomped on her chest with a level of force that would have subdued most of her sisters. However, Aleka refused to submit.

“Please, Aleka…yield,” said Diana in a more sincere tone.

“I…will not. I am…a warrior,” seethed Aleka.

“A warrior knows the difference between waging war and mere fighting. You know this to be true. I know you do.”

She almost sounded desperate, hoping that Aleka would not drag this out any longer. The air grew tense. The other Amazons, who had since crowded around the training circle, watched intently. The two mighty warriors kept staring each other down, daring each other to make the move they didn’t want to make. Someone was going to be disappointed and bloodied. It was only a matter of time.

“Just say it, Aleka…yield,” said Diana.

“No! I…will defeat you…Clay,” spat Aleka.

Some of the Amazons gasped. They all know how much Diana hated being called that. They all saw the princess’ face cringe with anger. Several years ago, she would have done far more than just cut her. On this day, she restrained herself, but did not hide her angry reaction.

Then, just as the tension seemed at its highest, an authoritative voice rang out from the main entrance to the training arena.

“That’s enough!” said Hippolyta. “Diana…Aleka…stand down.”

The two Amazons continued scolding each other for a moment, but eventually obeyed their queen. Diana took her foot off Aleka’s chest and turned away, tossing her sword aside in the process. She might not have proven her point, but she sent a clear message.

However, Aleka was not content with such an unceremonious resolution. Still short of breath and brimming with anger, she ignored the lingering pain in her knee and rose up. With Diana’s back still turned, she launched one final attack before she could exit the training circle.

“The Amazons will _not_ be dishonored!” Aleka shouted.

For a moment, it looked like the princess would be blindsided, but Diana had sensed her sister’s defiant resilience before her angry proclamation. Once again, her anger blinded her, leaving her unfocused and vulnerable in a way unbefitting of an Amazon. Had Diana’s perfectly honed instincts not kicked in, she might have felt pity for her.

Instead of pity, Diana turned around with lightning-fast reflexes and delivered a punishing haymaker right to Aleka’s face. This time, she didn’t hold back. She hit with such force that she usually reserved for a titan, knocking Aleka back about ten feet. When she landed in the center of the training ring, she was momentarily stunned. But before another round of rage overwhelmed her, she felt blood dripping down her nose. Anger then gave way to sorrow. Diana had bested her and there was no honor in arguing any further.

“Thank you for proving my point,” Diana told her.

Aleka only responded with an embittered scowl. As she lay defeated, several other Amazons who had been watching rushed to her aid. This inglorious end to what should have been a simple training match unfolded right before Hippolyta’s eyes. Her orders hadn’t been enough to ease the discord, which was not a good sign for any queen.

“I’m going to assume I don’t want to know the details of what I just witnessed,” said the queen.

“You can also assume she’s the one who started it,” said Diana.

“And like always, you finished it with your fists or whatever weapon you happen to be wielding at the time.”

“I’ve attempted less violent resolutions, but some refuse to be reasonable.”

“You and Aleka can still expect to have a private conversation with me tomorrow morning over additional chores. I hope you’ll both be reasonable because I’ve no patience for such bickering,” said Hippolyta strongly.

Diana resisted the urge to remind her mother why this bickering persisted. She knew as well as her that it came exclusively from sisters like Aleka who refused overlook her transgression with Kal-El and the effect he may or may not have had on her. But that was a conversation that always roused the wrong passions and after battling Aleka, Diana did not have the patience for that either.

“Come with me. There’s a matter we need to discuss,” said Hippolyta.

“Is it urgent?” asked Diana.

“No, but it has the potential to be. And since I know you like to supplement your training with a glass of wine and a hearty meal, I’ll make this quick.”

After making sure their sisters tended to Aleka, Hippolyta led Diana out of the training arena. She waited until they were within the entrance halls that led to the bath house. She didn’t need others knowing about this just yet.

The queen wasn’t usually seem this agitated, even after having to resolve another heated argument between Diana and her sisters. To Diana’s credit, she handled these arguments as honorably as she could. She never instigated a conflict. She never threw the first punch. She only ever dedicated herself to becoming the best Amazon she could be. That dedication had earned her many accolades, including blessed weapons and new abilities from the gods. But it never seemed to be enough in the eyes of her sisters or in Diana’s for that matter. For their sake and that of everything they held dear, it needed to be enough.

“Before I say anything, I wish to acknowledge your capacity for restraint, Diana,” began Hippolyta.

“I punched a sister in the face. That shouldn’t qualify as restraint,” sighed Diana they stood together in the middle of the hallway.

“Aleka was trying to infuriate you. She crosses lines that most Amazons are too respectful to cross. The fact that you are able to remain focused and not succumb to lesser emotions says a lot about you as a warrior.”

The queen affectionately cupped her daughter’s chin and admired her mature form. She was still sweaty, short of breath, and dirty from the training arena. But this only highlighted her transformation from a rebellious young girl to a powerful young woman.

“Mother please, I know you’re not just here to coddle me,” said Diana with a humored grin.

“Of course not. I haven’t had to coddle you since you were old enough to wield a sword. But I have been asking a lot of you these past few years. We all have.”

“We don’t need to have this conversation again. I know I’m held to a higher standard, even if it evokes jealousy from some of my sisters.”

“This is a different conversation entirely,” said Hippolyta in a more serious tone. “It has less to do with you and your sisters and more to do with the battlefields we enter.”

This sparked Diana’s attention. She cast aside her lingering feelings from her battle with Aleka and took on a more serious interest.

“I don’t know if you’ve ever pondered this, but do you know why the gods decided to offer a worthy Amazon greater skill, better weapons, and more ability?” asked Hippolyta.

“The thought had crossed my mind. I never assumed it was generous,” said Diana.

“With the gods, it rarely is. They always have a vested interest in every move they make. And after my recent meetings with Hera and Athena, I now know why they’re going to such lengths to equip themselves. It actually has less to do with us and more to do with the world beyond Themyscira and the realm of the gods.”

“You mean man’s world?”

“I was hoping to avoid that term, but yes,” affirmed Hippolyta.

Now Diana’s interest was piqued. The mere mention of man’s world had become more taboo after the incident with Kal-El. She went out of her way to avoid it. Her mother probably knew that, but she never doubted that it would one day become an issue again.

“The world of man is changing in ways it has not seen since the gods began keeping records,” the queen explained. “For centuries, the patriarchal order has fluctuated between periods of conflict and tension. Every now and then, something comes along that shakes up that order. Those disruptions are often felt by the gods. They also affect the chaos that we fight to contain.”

“You’re telling me things I already know or can surmise on my own. What sort of disruption are we dealing with now?” asked Diana.

“One that has injected a new imbalance to the equation,” said Hippolyta. “Something or someone has exerted a powerful new influence on man’s world. This ‘modern era’ as they call it is changing attitudes and perceptions at an unprecedented level. Even the gods are having difficulty keeping up.”

“I thought change in man’s world was supposed to be constant and chaotic. Why would the gods have a problem keeping up now?”

“Because this is a different kind of change,” said the queen. “Athena described new beings arising, male and female, with extraordinary abilities. They are not unlike the demigods of Amazon lore, but they are not a product of the gods or any divine will.”

“That we know of,” added Diana.

“I was hoping to avoid assumptions, but that thought has crossed my mind too. I’ve tried to focus less on the how and more on the impact because these changes have a direct effect on the affairs of Olympus. As you and every Amazon know, the natural flow of energies that fuel our domain are directly linked to hearts, spirits, and actions of all on this world. Regardless of whether the gods are worshipped, their domain is impacted by these changes. And the changes the gods are seeing have some hopeful, but some worried.”

It sounded like Olympus was in a state of uncertainty, which was something the gods weren’t used to. Diana didn’t usually concern herself with their affairs. She had enough to deal with as it stood. However, the mention of man’s world and the emergence of beings with great ability reminded her of Kal-El.

She hadn’t forgotten the extraordinary abilities he demonstrated during his time on Themyscira. It wouldn’t surprise her in the slightest if he was one of these beings concerning the gods, but it did concern her that the gods were now noting the impact of men like him.

“This brings me to why I wanted to share this with you,” said Hippolyta, now speaking to her as a warrior more than a daughter.

“And you want to be the one to tell me instead of the gods,” Diana pointed out. “That alone concerns me.”

“It should because the gods don’t have a history of responding well to change. Every disruption is a window for someone, god or beast, to pursue their own agenda. That means we may be facing a new kind of battle in the near-future…one that neither the Amazons nor the gods are prepared for.”

“So then how do we prepare?” asked Diana intently.

“We already are,” said the queen. “You’ve grown so much these past five years, Diana. And I’m not just referring to the challenges you’ve overcome and the abilities you’ve earned. You’ve matured into a special kind of warrior…one I couldn’t be more proud of.”

“I thought you said you weren’t going to coddle me, mother.”

“I am merely stating facts,” said Hippolyta with a proud smile, “And the most important fact at this point is that you’re the most skilled warrior on Themyscira. You trained, fought, and struggled through so much. I think you’re now getting to the point where you would be more equipped to lead the Amazons into battle than I.”

Now Diana felt a different kind of concern. She and her mother had these sorts of conversations before, especially within the past year. Her mother still dreamed of a day when she would take over as queen of the Amazons. For a time, Diana shared that dream. But after what happened with Kal-El, many things changed and many of those changes still affected her.

Diana shifted somewhat under her mother’s proud gaze. It didn’t feel right sometimes, her mother looking upon her in the context of the Amazon legacy. She had focused so much on being a warrior that she rarely had time to consider being a queen. She rarely had time to consider being anything else. It seemed she might not have a choice in the matter.

“I appreciate and cherish your support, mother. But I should remind you that some Amazons aren’t ready to accept me as their queen,” said Diana.

“Don’t let criticism from sisters like Aleka cloud your perceptions. They still love you and would gladly follow you through the darkest pits of Hades,” assured Hippolyta.

“I don’t doubt their love. It’s their respect that concerns me. Some refuse to forget my transgression five years ago.”

“It doesn’t help that you’ve yet to apologize for it,” Hippolyta pointed out.

“And I’ve no intention of apologizing. You know this and I’ve told you my reasons.”

“And I’d rather not argue those reasons again. I think we both know where we stand on that issue.”

“I’ve no desire to have _that_ conversation again either, but I don’t think that matters in the eyes of my sisters,” said Diana. “I think they’ll always have reservations about me consorting with a man. It doesn’t matter if I was just a teenager at the time. They still doubt me.”

“That’s nonsense, Diana. They don’t doubt you,” assured Hippolyta.

“They claim they don’t. Sometimes they even say they don’t. But I suspect that Aleka is only being the most honest among them in that she voices her doubts. And until I can prove myself to her and to all my sisters, I cannot lead them.”

“I share your concerns, but the situation might not afford us the necessary time.”

“Which only makes us more vulnerable,” Diana argued. “You know I’m willing to train and toil for my sisters. They know it too. But they’re not ready and neither am I. In that respect, maybe we both need to be stronger in ways we’re not ready to be.”

She remained conflicted. Hippolyta did her best to support her daughter as she always had, but this might have been the only battle that Diana wasn’t willing to fight. She could slay countless beasts, win countless matches, and gain greater skill. But she couldn’t see herself as having the respect needed to lead her sisters. It was tragic that only one transgression was enough to undermine her potential, but like the gods themselves, she and her daughter had to deal with a changing world.

* * *

**Syria – Refugee Camp**

_“Where are you, Superman? Show yourself! Come to me so I can show the world how pathetic you really are!”_

There was once a time when a man shouting loudly into the desert was little cause for concern. It actually wasn’t that long ago when Superman might have been the only one capable of hearing these insane ramblings. Now in a world of social media and global news coverage, madmen like this had an audience. That raised the stakes and added to the danger. While most would instinctively run from such danger, some were drawn to it.

“Hurry up, Smallville! This guy is really stepping up the trash talk. I don’t want to miss seeing Superman shut him up,” said the always fearless Lois Lane.

“I think we’re really pushing our luck here, Lois. I’m pretty sure those UN troops told us to stay behind that barrier 200 feet behind us,” replied Clark as he followed Lois closely.

“What’s the matter? Not feeling lucky today?” teased Lois.

“Did I say we should turn back? I know a there’s nothing I can say to make you back down from a story like this. I just feel as though someone should remind you how risky this is.”

“And you just love being that someone, don’t you?”

“It has its perks,” said Clark with a slight grin.

Nobody should have been this excited to be in a place so dangerous, but Lois Lane wasn’t just anybody. She was a hard-nosed army brat, an ambitious reporter, and an unyielding champion of the truth. There was no story too big for her. There was no locale too dangerous. One day, she could be sitting in a palace, interviewing a king, and making his wife insanely jealous with her charisma and beauty. The next, she could be running around in a war zone in a pair of dirty jeans and a T-shirt, trying to share a story with the world. She didn’t have any superpowers, but she didn’t need them. And that was a big reason why Clark enjoyed her company.

This wasn’t the first time he had followed Lois into a war zone, but this was the first time he had followed her this far. He joined the Daily Planet four years ago shortly after he moved to Metropolis. Originally, he planned on establishing Superman as something bigger than some kid in a pair of jeans who occasionally played hero. Those plans expanded a great deal thanks to Lois. She had been the one who introduced Superman to the world. She helped turn the Man of Steel from just another guy with superpowers to an icon. She also inspired Clark Kent to adopt her passion for the truth. It’s what inspired him to be a reporter and now he found himself in the middle of another story.

_“This is your last chance, Superman! You have five minutes left. Show yourself or I’ll turn this whole desert into a toxic waste dump!”_

As he stayed close to Lois, Clark used his telescopic vision to see the source of that booming voice. It came from a man, but he sounded more like a machine. However, that machine had clearly malfunctioned because it was driving the man insane, among other things.

The machine itself probably wasn’t designed to be the walking nuclear meltdown. Based on the official UN reported, this special armored battle suit was designed to enter a major war zone in which chemical weapons had been unleashed. It was big and clunky, standing about the size of a small building and bearing a distinctly humanoid design. It supposedly packed the firepower of an entire tank battalion and was armored with an exotic metallic shell composed of metallo, a nearly indestructible metal.

This prototype unit, aptly dubbed Project Metallo, promised to end a civil war that had been raging for nearly a decade. The use of illegal chemical weapons kept most countries from sending troops, but the promise of a game-changing weapon helped attract international attention. This prompted their editor-in-chief, Perry White, to send him and Lois as the Daily Planet’s chief correspondents. He claimed his gut told him something would go wrong here that would make this a bigger story. More often than not, Perry’s gut was right.

Now Clark found himself following Lois through a series of trenches that had been dug by the rebels just outside a nearby city. The prototype had just finished leveling the city and now stood in a large crater that had once been a rebel stronghold. What led him to go from peacemaker to wanting to pick a fight with Superman was the big story here.

“This way! This Spanish colonel told me they’re setting up drone strike from this old bunker, but I get the feeling he was only telling half the truth,” said Lois as she led him over a mound of sandbags.

“How did you get him to reveal something like that?” questioned Clark.

“Let’s just say the man had a thing for brunettes and leave it at that,” she replied coyly. “He also told me the name of the unlucky bastard in that suit. His name is John Corban. That name ring a bell?”

“Only if it’s the same Sergeant Jonathan Corban of the United States Army who served three tours overseas and was dishonorably discharged for reasons still classified.”

“You forgot card-carrying member of the Lex Luthor fan club and test pilot for Lexcorp’s highly experimental (and probably illegal) defense subsidiary.”

“I didn’t forget, but I don’t remember his name being mentioned in the UN’s press release,” said Clark, already sensing where Lois was going with this.

“Probably by Luthor’s request,” scoffed Lois, “Which is why I’m positive this is going to get worse before it gets better.”

Her instincts were even better than Perry White’s in situations like this. As they neared the bunker, Clark attempted to assess the situation. It was no longer a matter of whether Superman would be needed to resolve this situation. It was just a matter of knowing the perfect time to strike.

Knowing now there was a Lex Luthor connection, Clark attempted to scan the prototype with his X-ray vision. What he saw only added to the danger. He couldn’t see into the major components, which was to be expected from Luthor. Since he began clashing with Superman, he had been lining his facilities and weapons with lead. But he was able to see a very potent power source built into the chest of the prototype. It had a distinct greenish glow and radiated with an energy that Clark recognized all too well.

_‘Kryptonite. I knew it. This is definitely Luthor’s handiwork. He built the whole prototype around it. No way he planned on using this as a peacekeeping force. He made this suit just for me. Might as well return the favor before anyone else gets hurt.’_

They reached the entrance to the bunker, which was already badly damaged. As soon as they entered, they discovered that the UN’s plan to deal with this renegade prototype had already failed. Several men and two women, who clearly weren’t associated with the UN, were tinkering with a large refrigerator-sized machine. Something must have gone horribly wrong because it was sparking erratically. A couple of UN soldiers already lay wounded nearby the several other soldiers present didn’t look in any condition to fight.

“Who the hell are you? You’re not supposed to be here!” yelled one of the men working on the machine.

“From the looks of it, neither are you,” said Lois.

“You better not be reporters. This whole are is supposed to be off-limits,” said one of the soldiers. “This is a sensitive operation and we don’t need civilians screwing it up!”

“Right, because you guys have _such_ a good handle of the situation,” said Lois dryly.

“You don’t understand. This neural-disruptor can stop that thing!” said a beleaguered middle-aged woman standing restlessly over the machine.

“You mean that oversized toaster that looks _way_ past warranty? It doesn’t look like it could stop a fruit fly.”

“It’s not our fault. It wasn’t supposed to go so wrong,” lamented another soldier, who also looked wounded. “The army said they would keep it busy. They thought the drone strikes would slow it down. But one of the missiles – it misfired. It hit us before we could activate the disruptor. Now _nothing_ can stop the prototype.”

These people were clearly not Lex Luthor’s die-hard loyalists. They just got caught up in a dangerous job given to them by a man who valued their lives as much as he valued a lab rat. Lois only shook her head in pity while Clark formulated a new plan.

He assumed this machine that Luthor probably designed to keep Corben under control could not be fixed. He also assumed that these people weren’t going to be able to escape in time. This bunker was not going to hold up against another attack or a botched drone strike. In addition, there were innocent people wounded. Seeing his window, he put his plan into action.

“These men need medical attention. I’m going to get them to a medic and you people are going to fix that thing,” said Clark as he knelt beside the two wounded men.

“I can always count on you to keep things basic in a crisis, Clark,” commented Lois.

“Do you two need to get your eyes checked or something? Look at this thing!” said one of the technicians working on the machine. “Does it look like it can be fixed before the prototype throws another tantrum?”

“If it hasn’t blown up yet, it can be fixed,” said Lois, “And if you do, you’ll have your names right up there with Superman when we stop this thing. I’ll see to it personally.”

“When? You sure are confidently,” said the female technician.

“You guys don’t read the Daily Planet much, do you?”

Nobody else shared Lois’s confidence, but that was to be expected. Clark could tell that she was already outlining the story she planned to write in her head. No matter how dangerous a situation got, she never lost sight of her goal. That was one of the many things he admired about her. It was also one of the many things that complicated their friendship.

While Lois aided the technicians and soldiers, Clark helped the two wounded men back to their feet. They were barely conscious and in a lot of discomfort. He also heard more drones fly overhead, indicating that another airstrike was coming. That was sure to only frustrate the prototype even more. Superman needed to end this conflict.

“Be careful out there, Smallville. Looks like Corben is almost out of patience,” said Lois as she looked out from the bunker towards the raging metallic behemoth.

“I’ll be fine, Lois. I would ask you to be careful as well, but I know that would be redundant,” said Clark.

“I can take care of myself. No need to make it sound like a character flaw,” she scoffed.

“I never meant to say I didn’t admire it,” said Clark, “Although I imagine Superman still worries about you when you get into trouble like this.”

“He can get in line.”

Leaving Lois to deal with the volatile situation in the bunker, Clark slipped out through the entrance and went to work. As soon as he was out of sight, he used his super speed to deliver the two men to a medical tent, much to the surprise of a couple medics. A fraction of a second later, he changed into Superman, activating the special Kryptonian biotech armor he always kept with him. It proved much more functional than the jeans and sneakers he used to wear. Those wouldn’t have lasted a second against a threat like this.

He made sure he flew out ahead of the incoming drones, just in case they botched another strike. As soon as he came into view of the prototype, he got a better look at what he was up against. The clunky metal humanoid was even more menacing than he thought.

_“There you are! You finally muster up the courage to show yourself,”_ taunted John Corben from within the device.

“You’re clearly not well, Sergeant Corben. I don’t know what Luthor told you about this prototype, but he clearly negated its effects on your psyche,” said Superman, hoping to talk him down.

_“My psyche? You think I’m crazy? I’m a soldier! I serve my country. I defend it from all threats, foreign and domestic. And you, Superman, are the greatest threat of all!”_

* * *

 

**Themyscira – Diana’s Quarters**

There used to be a time when Diana felt stronger and bolder after a long day of training. Winning any battle, be it a sparring battle with a sister or an invasion by marauding satyrs, should have been an accomplishment worth celebrating. However, the very concept of winning a battle and becoming a better Amazon had changed a great deal over the past five years.

On the surface, Diana carried herself as the proud Amazon princess who aspired to lead her sisters as queen one day. Her actions certainly backed up those impressions. Each new ability she gained and every new weapon she earned from various contests convinced even the most ardent Amazon that she had matured since her transgression. Aleka, and all her scathing remarks towards, was part of a declining minority that would one day disappear completely. Diana should have felt relieved. Instead, it only made Aleka’s words cut even deeper.

_‘Mother…sisters…why must you make it so difficult to be an Amazon? You give me so much love and support. You cheer me on as I strive to be a great warrior. If only you knew how much it hurts to hear those cheers.’_

As soon as Diana entered her quarters, she locked her door and covered her windows with curtains. Then, once certain that she had total privacy, she pulled out an unmarked chest from under her bed. This chest was the best kept secret in all of Themyscira. Every time she opened it, her hands trembled. But its contents contained a source of strength that helped guide her in ways her sisters could never understand.

“Why do I do this to myself? Why do I do this to my sisters? To my mother?” she said to herself.

The Amazon princess reached inside to retrieve the most forbidden objects that didn’t belong to the gods. These were the artifacts of man’s world that she had been smuggling for the past two years now. They included magazine, pictures, books, and various products produced by this world she had been told produced nothing of value for any Amazon. Just holding these things in her hands gave her tangible proof of how wrong her sisters were.

_‘I might as well be a drunkard who cannot survive without several bottles of wine. Man’s world has become my own worst vice. Kal-El might have given me my first insight, but I chose to dig deeper. I keep hoping I’ll find something that’ll disgust me to the point where I’ll throw it all away. I’m starting to think that won’t happen.’_

Diana began feeding her vice by opening up one of the magazines. It was a simple news magazine. It was somewhat outdated by a few months, but the insight it offered only deepened her fascination with man’s world. It also gave her even more reasons to keep deceiving her mother and sisters, much to her dismay.

This had been going on since she gained the ability to fly. Under the guise of scouting missions, Diana would sneak off Themyscira to the closest populated island she could reach, which happened to be a popular vacation destination, as it was called. Cruise ships carrying men and women from all over the region would dock there, bringing relics of their culture and world with them. Most of what she found initially came from trash cans or anything the people discarded. Later on, she made contact with an exiled sister, another severe crime under the Amazon Code, who gave her access to more materials. It didn’t take long before she became immersed in the culture of man’s world.

Early on, she developed a healthy appetite for books about romance and war. She would stay up for hours on end, reading stories of men and women coming together and finding love. Some of these stories were fictional. Some were based on real stories. That led her to read more magazines that provided insight into the more contemporary cultures of man’s world. These things they called movies, TV shows, and sports offered such a different perspective compared to what she had been taught by her sisters. There were some disheartening stories, especially those about the treatment of women in certain regions. However, time and again, the good overshadowed the bad, which only added to the conflict in her heart.

She tried not to think about that as she read through the magazine. The cover itself was pretty intriguing. It had an image of the world with a large question mark over top of it. Just above it read the headline, “Superpowered Beings: Gods Among Us?” It documented a growing list of cases that involved men and women wielding extraordinary powers carrying out extraordinary feats. This magazine in particular had sections on the various regions such as Gotham, Central City, Liverpool, and Khandaq. But it was the story in Metropolis that drew the most intrigue.

This is where the strain on her heart became too much. Seeing pictures of Kal-El, now known to the world as Superman, reminded her of all the emotions she felt for him that fateful day he washed up on the shores of Themyscira.

“Oh Kal…you’re becoming so much more than I ever thought you would,” said Diana as she placed her hand over a picture of Superman. “Now it seems others are joining you. It must be nice to not be so alone.”

The princess held back a tear and turned the page, choosing not to add to the strain. In the stories that followed, she read a report about a group of men who rescued a little girl stranded in the jungle. Another story told of women who stood up to corrupt businessmen who refused to give them equal pay for their labors. There were even stories of men and women standing together, rising up against oppressive governments and demanding justice. These people weren’t warriors. They were ordinary men and women, struggling in a world full of injustice. Yet here she was, a warrior who never once used her skills to further justice.

_‘How can I be surrounded by so much love and feel so alone? The Amazons speak of justice, honor, and compassion. But they do nothing about it outside this god-granted paradise. I know I shouldn’t be thinking these things. I certainly shouldn’t be creating this burden when my mother tells me there is a greater conflict brewing. She expects me to be queen one day and lead my sisters into battle. But how can I be queen when our code feels so unjust?’_

Diana forced herself to close the magazine and put it away. Anymore at this point would only make it worse. She stuffed it back into the chest and prepared to close it. But before she could, her eyes fell upon the two most precious items in her illicit collection.

They were the only remnants of Kal-El’s visit to Themyscira. One was the glass sphere that he forged for her to demonstrate his power. The other was a makeshift football that he crafted out of the skin of the wild boar they ate the night before he left. Originally, her mother ordered these items thrown away. Diana managed to retrieve them and had kept them under lock and key ever since. Every time she touched them, she recalled the warmth of his embrace. It brought more conflict into her already complicated world, but it also brought comfort.

Needing that comfort now more than ever, Diana grasped both the football and the glass orb. She may have been the strongest Amazon on Themyscira, but her Amazonian spirit only grew weaker every time she reminded herself of the bitter truth.

“Aleka is right and Mother is wrong…if only in part,” she said distantly. “I know what it means to be a warrior, but I don’t know what it means to be an Amazon anymore. You opened my eyes, Kal-El. You helped me see the world in a new way. I want to embrace that world, but I know I can’t…not without losing everything I hold dear.”

With a heavy heart, Diana put the football and the glass orb back into the chest and closed it. She looked over at her mirror briefly to see that she let only a slight tear escape her eyes. She quickly wiped it away. A warrior and the future queen of the Amazons wasn’t supposed to cry. She was supposed to remain strong, no matter what her burden. With that burden becoming increasingly heavy, Diana closed her eyes and shut it all out as best she could before taking off her clothes and going to bed.

But just as she closed her eyes and drifted off, Apollo appeared in her mirror. Gods weren’t supposed to spy on the Amazons. Zeus made it clear that they were off-limits. However, Apollo had never been keen on following his father’s rules. Every now and then they paid off and this promised to significantly change his plans with Ares for the better.

“You poor, pampered princess. I would pity you if you weren’t so pathetic,” said the renegade god as he gazed upon Diana’s sleeping form. “Ares is going to _love_ this. I think our plans just got a lot less complicated.”

* * *

**Syria Desert**

_“Come on, Superman! This can’t possibly be your best,”_ barked an increasingly unstable John Corben.

“Believe me, Sergeant Corben. You don’t want my best,” warned Superman after avoiding yet another devastating attack.

_“Quit pretending you’re stronger than me. Let the world see just how pathetic you are!”_

“And here I was thinking I would give you another chance to end this peacefully.”

Superman had already accomplished one of his primary goals in attacking the prototype that contained Sergeant John Corben. He directed his attacks away from innocent bystanders. He spent the last several minutes leading him away from the city that contained the refugee camp and the bunker. As far as he could tell, Lois and the Lexcorp personnel attempting were still trying to activate the neural-disruptor. It didn’t look like they had made much progress. That meant he would likely have to subdue Corben the hard way.

This prototype had been designed with him in mind, despite what the UN claimed. Corben demonstrated this by showing that he could channel the energy from the kryptonite in his chest and unleashing it in concentrated beams. Superman was able to avoid them, but he couldn’t get too close to the oversized humanoid robot without getting weak. So as the prototype kept shooting at him, he kept his distance, remaining a moving target. As he avoided the attacks, he made a few more disturbing discoveries about this prototype and the man inside.

_‘Luthor really went over budget on this one. Ever since he figured out that kryptonite can hurt me, he’s gone to great lengths to weaponize it. If only he had spent that much time on the interface. Those crude neural connections really messed Corben up. Then again, he might have been messed up before then.’_

Superman kept leading the prototype away, drawing him into a clearing that appeared to be a dried up riverbed. He kept flying around the deadly device at high speeds, kicking up a sandstorm and bombarding the prototype with blistering winds. This made the prototype’s movements a bit clumsier, but it didn’t dissuade Corben in the slightest.

_“Do you really think you can win like this, Superman?”_ laughed the deranged ex-soldier. _“You’re only going to make this more satisfying for me!”_

The prototype fired another kryptonite beam, but this time it had a wider arc. Superman couldn’t avoid it entirely and immediately felt sickened when part of it struck him. He slowed down and descended slightly, becoming dizzier and less coordinated. But he never lost his focus. He kept on moving.

As he continued encircling the prototype, he noticed that parts of it started spewing this mist of greenish gas. Most of it was concentrated around the cockpit area where John Corben was piloting the device. It was a further testament to Luthor’s workmanship and utter disregard for human life.

_‘I want to feel sorry for this guy, but he’s really making it hard. That gas must be some sort of stabilizing catalyst. It’s crude, but it’s the only way Luthor could have channeled the kryptonite. I doubt he expected the gas to react with the chemical weapons being used by the rebels.’_

 

Then the prototype fired another beam, this time in a more concentrated manner. It narrowly missed him, but was close enough to make him queasy. It forced him to rethink his last thought.

 

_‘Scratch that. I think he did. He’s too smart to overlook something like this. He knew that the second a rebel hit him with the gas that it would react with the catalyst. He wanted Sergeant Corben to go into a murderous rage. He must have thought that would put him at an advantage. Guess I’ll have to prove him wrong.’_

Everything Superman saw in this prototype gave him more reasons to despise Lex Luthor. He was just about ready to add it to Lexcorp’s growing pile of scrap metal. He just needed to get close enough to make his move.

As the battle between Superman and the prototype unfolded, Lois Lane made sure she documented every second of it. This promised to be yet another scathing story for Luthor. While his tech team kept working on the disruptor, she used a special portable camera that Jimmy Olsen had given her to capture the fight. She made sure to capture everything John Corben said as well. This would provide the most compelling footage, especially if Corben let slip how deeply Luthor had been involved.

“That’s it, Superman. Keep him pissed off. Wait for him to drop Luthor’s name and we’ll have our story,” said Lois as she zoomed in on the scene.

She kept ignoring the danger, watching and listening intently for anything that would add weight to this story. Then one of the technicians knocked the camera out of her hands and kicked it across the floor.

“Hey! What the hell?” exclaimed Lois.

“Trust me, lady. You don’t want to do that,” said the female technician. “You’ll only make this harder on all of us.”

“Is that how you _really_ feel or is that just what Luthor told you to say?” she scoffed.

“I know your reputation, Ms. Lane. I’m not telling you anything that’ll require my family to move to Antarctica. I’ll just say there are a lot of people you would hurt if this became a bigger story.”

“And how many more people would get hurt if the truth stays hidden?” asked Lois, “Keep in mind that there’s an oversized death machine rampaging about half-a-mile away.”

These were hard questions that nobody in this bunker was ready to answer. The female technician just looked at her with an irritated scowl while the rest of Luthor’s tech team lowered their heads, hiding their expressions to avoid having to make excuses.

It was a common theme among any story that had ties to Lex Luthor. He made sure his people understood that there would be consequences if they divulged too much. Lois knew better than anyone how far Luthor would go to protect his image of genius billionaire businessman who could solve all the world’s problems with his intellect. Many people had mysteriously disappeared as a result of his tactics. That only made her more determined to expose his dirty secrets, but these people weren’t making it easy on her.

“I…I think I’ve got it!” said one of the technicians working on the device. “The disruptor is now active.”

“That better not be an underhanded way of avoiding the question,” said Lois firmly.

“I’m dead serious! We can activate it now.”

“Then why the hell haven’t you done it already?” asked the female technician.

“There’s just one problem…we don’t have the power,” he said grimly.

“What?! But it’s supposed to have its own power cell!”

“I’m afraid it was damaged to the point where we can only get a partial charge. And the backup cell was destroyed in the botched drone strike. So unless we hook into a new power source soon, that prototype won’t be stopped.”

The tech team had stopped tinkering, having reached a dead end. Lois scolded them even harder. Not only were they willing to protect Lex Luthor from the truth, but they couldn’t even fix this clunky device enough to help Superman. This just kept getting more and more frustrating. She was ready to berate these Luthor apologists in every way they deserved.

Then, another unexpected presence entered the bunker. It was a man wearing a flak jacket, a baseball cap, and cargo pants. As soon as he saw Lois and the tech team, he smiled.

“Well this is way more promising than I thought,” he said. “I knew those tracks had to lead somewhere.”

“Oh great, another one,” groaned one of the technicians, “And who are you? Another annoying news jock who refuses to respect restricted war zones?”

“The names Jonathan Carroll and I’ve more respect for war zones than you think. I also have a truck with half-a-tank of gas, a makeshift camera crew, and some water. If any of you are interested, you’ll offer up a few sound bites to my story.”

Almost immediately, this man became Lois Lanes new favorite person. It helped that he had a handsome face and little respect for arbitrary press blackouts. He made the overwhelmed and beleaguered tech team writhe in a way she could never have done on her own. Now they had incentive to turn on their boss. They also had the means to end this conflict.

“Well Mr. Carroll, I think I speak for everyone here when I say your timing is impeccable,” said Lois.

“Speak for yourself,” muttered the female technician that had attacked Lois earlier.

“It’s a trick of the trade. It’s keeps people like us alive in places like this long enough to get the story,” said Jonathan.

“And you can become part of that story for all the right reasons if that truck, you mentioned, has jumper cables,” added Lois.

“I think I have a pair. I never enter a war zone under-equipped.”

“I’m sure you don’t,” said Lois with a hint of subtext.

Jonathan didn’t waste a second heading back to his truck to get the cables. Lois ran after him, grabbing the female technician by the collar and dragging her with along for the ride. She didn’t appreciate it, but they didn’t have the luxury of being friendly at this point.

“Tell me your standard truck can provide enough juice to turn that thing on,” said Lois.

“Speaking from my extensive expertise in the subject, it’s a longshot at best,” she said with little confidence.

“I’m willing to play the odds. And I’m willing to bet Superman is as well.”

While Lois went to work with Jonathan and the tech team, the battle against him and the prototype continued to escalate. The greenish gas cloud around the humanoid battle structure kept growing. Parts of it even sparked as it clashed with the swirling sandstorms that Superman had kicked up. It threatened to spread into populated areas, meaning this battle couldn’t end quickly enough.

Superman narrowly avoided more Kryptonite blasts. In the distance, he saw more drones approaching. The UN was going to try and blow the prototype to bits again, which would most likely spread the gas cloud even farther. He couldn’t let that happen. That meant he had to go in for the finishing blow.

_‘The UN isn’t cooperating and Luthor’s flunkies aren’t coming through. Guess I’m going to have to shut Corben down with the direct approach. It’s probably going to hurt in ways I’m not used to. Luthor’s probably going to enjoy it. I’ll make sure to get back at him later. Right now, I need to end this before anyone else gets hurt.’_

Despite lingering nausea from the kryptonite, Superman slowed down and took aim with his heat vision. In between kryptonite blasts, he struck the prototype around the central area just above the kryptonite power cell. It opened a sliver between the panels of metallo armor. This exotic metal was too hard to just cut open so he would have to find a narrow opening to reach the inner components of the prototype. That meant getting uncomfortably close to the kryptonite.

“Here goes,” he said with a deep breath.

Braving the greenish gas and swirling sands, Superman flew right into the gut of the imposing prototype and struck the panels he had just loosened. He struck it hard enough to dislodge the panels, exposing the interior of the oversized death machine. That included Sergeant Corben himself, who stood within a complex, albeit messy, interface of wires and controls. But in seeing this interface, he confirmed what he already dreaded.

“Good Lord, Luthor. What have you done?” Superman gasped.

This prototype went much further than making just another battle suit. The controls had actually been integrated into Sergeant Corben’s nervous system. That meant when the systems reacted poorly with the chemical weapons agent, it seeped into his flesh. It didn’t just leave him physically burned. It scarred his mind. His face, which had no fewer than a hundred wires going into it, looked utterly deranged. His body and his mind had become detached, leaving him unhinged and beyond reason.

_“Finally! We meet face-to-face,”_ said Corben menacingly. _“Now I can look you in the eye when I kill you.”_

“It doesn’t have to be this way, Sergeant. Look at what Luthor has done to you. Is this what you think a soldier looks like?” asked Superman.

_“I don’t care. I know what a threat to the human race looks like and I have the perfect weapon to take it out!”_

In his unstable state, Sergeant Corben redirected all the energy from the Kryptonite onto his position. This caused more gas to spew out, shrouding them both in a poisonous mist. It quickly sapped Superman’s strength and left him feeling ill and disoriented. He struggled to hold onto the panels he ripped open, fighting with all his might not to succumb to the weakness. There was no way he had enough strength to tear through the heavy gears to disable to prototype. He also didn’t have the power to use his heat vision to disconnect the wires going into Sergeant Corben’s body. But, as he learned five years ago, he didn’t always need to use his powers to win a battle.

_‘Don’t have much time before the gas starts to get to me. Need to focus. Find your opponents, hit it hard, and endure. Great warriors don’t have to overpower their enemies. They just have to outlast them.’_

His thoughts echoed the very words Diana once told him when he trained with her during their brief time together. She didn’t get a chance to show him much, but she showed him enough to demonstrate the difference between someone who was strong and someone who was a warrior.

Sergeant Corben seethed with malice as he increased the intensity of the kryptonite beam. Superman made sure he thought he was on the brink of collapse. He had to be overly confident that he was about to do what nobody thought was possible and defeat Superman.

_“That’s it! Whither like the pathetic coward you are. Prove to the world that you’re as foolish as any man,”_ proclaimed Corben.

“Speak for yourself,” said Superman under his breath.

With one last burst of strength, Superman lunged forward into the heart of the tangled gears surrounding the prototype. Armed with only a fraction of his strength, he attacked Sergeant Corben’s wired form within the core of the prototype.

He caught the deranged man by surprised, ensuring he had no chance to brace himself. Superman made sure he struck at just the right points, exactly as Diana had taught him. He used his forearm to hit Sergeant Corben right in the neck, choking him off and stunning him. He then hit Corben right in the sternum, sending a shock that knocked the wind out of him and sent a punishing jolt to his heart. The impact had a quick and immediate effect on Corben. Even in his maddened state, he was struck by a paralyzing feeling all over his body.

_“Ack!”_ was all he got out.

The feeling quickly spread to the rest of the prototype, causing it to stumble and lose its balance. Superman made sure the attack wasn’t lethal. Mad or not, John Corben didn’t deserve to die for Lex Luthor’s aspirations. He made sure Corben didn’t have a chance to recover, keeping his forearm pressed against his neck and holding on as the prototype fell to the parched desert surface.

As soon as it impacted, much of the already-damaged interior collapsed. Gears warped, cables snapped, and motors failed. The whole support system for this walking war machine fell apart in spectacular fashion. In addition, the power systems feeding into the kryptonite containment cell failed, effectively cutting off the flow of radiation and providing Superman with some much needed relief from its poisonous effects.

It was all over within ten seconds. The prototype collapsed and Superman ended up falling out through the slit he created. He ended up landing atop the metallic behemoth, just above the kryptonite cell. It was sufficiently shielded to limit its effects. The hot desert sun also helped replenish the strength he had lost in the attack. So for a moment, he attempted to catch his breath. However, Sergeant Corben wasn’t ready to end the battle, even if the prototype was disabled.

_“Nnn…NOOO! I will not…let it end…like this!”_ he exclaimed.

His body burned and still covered in wires, he fought his way through the mangled gears of the prototype and climbed out from the control area. He set his deranged sights on the still-recovering Superman, hoping to reach him before he regained his strength. But before he could take one step closer, he was struck with one last paralyzing blow. This time, however, it didn’t come from Superman.

_“AAAGGGHHH!”_ Sergeant Corben cried out as he clutched his head in agony.

Superman didn’t need his X-ray vision to figure out what had just happened. The sparks shooting out from the wires in his head gave it away. While he often went into battle assuming the worst, he was often surprised by how much lucky breaks he got, thanks to his friends.

He could already hear Lois and the tech team breathing a sigh of relief in the bunker. There was even someone else cheering. He would have to thank him too when he got a chance. With the destruction of the prototype, the drones pulled away. This prototype had done enough damage in this war torn region. It marked another battle won for Superman. Again, he needed help from friends like Lois Lane. But that didn’t bother him. As he learned five years ago, inspiring others to do the right thing was as great a strength as any power.

_‘She did it again. Lois, I don’t know how you keep pulling it off. Between your knack for dealing with danger and the skills Diana taught me, I keep becoming a better Superman. With all these monsters Lex Luthor keeps throwing at me are any indication, I’ll need to keep getting better to keep up.’_

* * *

**Themyscira – Temple of Hera**

“Goddess Hera, hear my prayers! I seek your guidance. For my sisters and my daughter, please show me the way,” proclaimed Queen Hippolyta in a heartfelt prayer.

It had been a while since Hippolyta had sought the presence of the gods so intently. For most of their history, the Amazons had a very structured relationship with Olympus. Various gods regularly visited them on numerous occasions. Sometimes it was part of a ceremony. Sometimes it was to celebrate a holiday. Sometimes it was to bestow on them new skills and abilities. It was rare for an Amazon to seek a private audience with the gods and it was even rarer when they answered. At the moment, she needed divine guidance.

After most of her sisters had either turned in for the night or taken up guard duty, Hippolyta entered the Temple of Hera and sealed herself inside. She entered the sacred shrine in the center of the temple, which had been ordained with a beautifully sculpted statue of Hera, the goddess that had initially answered her prayer after her defeat at the hands of Hercules. Now for the past half-hour, she had been on her knees, calling out to the goddess.

“Please goddess, I need your divine wisdom,” she prayed. “I’m told a new chaos is brewing…one that the Amazons are ill-equipped to confront. This comes at a time when my daughter is still clashing with her sisters when she needs to be preparing herself for the day she becomes their queen. I feel fate is working against us. Tell me, Hera…what must I do?”

A sharp gust blew through the halls of the temple, causing the various candles and torches surrounding the statue to flicker. The air around the statute soon became hot, giving the distinct feeling of a presence nearby. Hippolyta continued her praying, sensing that someone was now listening to her pleas. However, the presence that emerged did not feel like Hera.

“Enough with the desperation, Queen Hippolyta. Olympus hears all your prayers. We just don’t always have the time or the capacity to answer them,” said a deep, male voice.

Hippolyta opened her eyes and looked up to see Apollo standing before her. The flames from the candles and torches had come to life, forming a figure in front of Hera’s statue. He had not been the god she prayed to, but she stood up and bowed respectfully none-the-less.

“Lord Apollo, this is an unexpected honor,” greeted the queen. “Forgive my formalities, but I was seeking the voice of Hera.”

“Well she is preoccupied with other godly matters, so I guess you’ll have to make due with me,” said Apollo casually. “That’s probably a good thing because I doubt she would want to say what I’ve come here to say.”

“What do you mean? Is there trouble on Olympus?” asked Hippolyta.

Apollo pretended to appear solemn, taking comfort in the knowledge that Hippolyta’s piety would prevent her from questioning him. What he was about to do would cause great upheaval among the Amazons and among Olympus. He was sure to upset many, increasing the already growing anxiety among his fellow gods. But that’s exactly what he needed at the moment. His plans with Ares had entered a new stage and, as was often the case on Olympus, discord was their greatest ally.

“I’m afraid there is trouble of a very pressing kind,” said Apollo. “However, it doesn’t involve Olympus. It involves your daughter.”

* * *

**Up next: Heartbreak**


	5. HeartBreak

**Strangers In Paradise**   
**Chapter 5: Heartbreak**

* * *

**Themyscira**

After a fairly restless night, Diana woke up before sunrise, as she often did, to train on her own. That usually involved a quick flight around the island and a few exercises along the beach. She avoided contact with Aleka and most of her sisters. No doubt word had spread about her sparring match the other day. That meant the next few days would be filled with suspicion and concern.

While most of the Amazons refrained from discussing it with her, Diana sensed that it occupied their minds. It was one of those unspoken rules on Themyscira. On the outside, they showed the princess respect and loyalty. On the inside, however, they remained conflicted. There was no doubt that some probably agreed with Aleka’s sentiment. Even those that didn’t probably still thought about it constantly. It was like an obstacle nobody wanted to confront. With all this talk about her becoming queen one day, it didn’t exactly establish a foundation for new leadership.

_‘I can’t keep doing this to myself. I can’t keep claiming to be an honorable Amazon when I’m not sure what an honorable Amazon even entails. How can I expect to become a true Amazon, let alone their queen, while having these doubts? I can only hide behind my strength and skills for so long. At some point, I need to confront my mother and my sisters. Something must change. I just hope it doesn’t come too soon. Nobody is ready for it…especially me.’_

Diana once again shut out this internal struggle that had plagued her for four years now. She had a long day ahead of her. She and some of her sisters planned to do some scouting missions through Tartarus. More often than not, those ended in harpy attacks and the occasional Minotaur stampede. Combat and training often provided the best distraction from these issues and she needed that now more than ever.

As the sun began to rise over Themyscira, Diana returned to her quarters so she could prepare for battle. But to her surprise, somebody was already in her room sitting on her bed.

“Mother? What are you doing here?” asked Diana, taken aback by her presence.

The queen didn’t respond. She wasn’t even facing her. She was just sitting on Diana’s bed, hunched over something. She lacked her usual regal poise. She wasn’t usually up this early and she never just barged into her room without her permission. It was more than enough to turn Diana’s surprise into dread.

“Mother…is something wrong?” she asked anxiously.

“I honestly don’t know, Diana. I was hoping you could tell me,” her mother replied in the flattest tone she had ever heard.

When Hippolyta turned around, she had a look on her face that could have frozen Hades itself. In doing so, she revealed that one of Diana’s worst fears had come true. In front of her, the chest she hid under her bed lay open and its forbidden contents exposed. This alone was damning enough for any Amazon. But for the princess, it was something far worse.

For the first time since she was a child, Diana trembled. She actually took a step back as her mother rose up from the bed, her expression wrought with a mix of anger and pain. In one hand, she had the magazine she had been reading last night. In the other, she had the glass orb that Kal-El had made her. It looked like she had actually been crying. Diana had seen her mother in the heat of battle, but she had never seen her this upset before.

“Tell me this is a cruel trick of the gods! Tell me this isn’t what I think it is!” shouted Hippolyta as she held up the magazine, “Because if it is, you’ve just spent the last four years conspiring to break my heart!”

* * *

**Syria – One Day Ago**

“So how are you holding up, Superman? It looked like Corben had you on the ropes for a while,” said Lois as she passed Superman a bottle of water.

“I’ll be fine, Lois. I’ve taken far worse punishment than this,” assured Superman.

“Don’t I know it. Just thought I’d make sure. Someone in this crazy world has to worry about you.”

Superman smiled at Lois’ coy remark as he accepted the bottle of water. A few moments ago, he finished giving her an exclusive statement. It was part of the unique relationship they had built since he became Superman. He trusted her to report the pure, unfiltered truth and she always did. Her efforts were a big reason why Superman had become such a global icon. For that, Lois was very special to him. At times, this unique relationship took on other, more personal dynamics.

As she sat with him near the bunker where this conflict had ended, they watched a sizable contingent of UN peacekeepers haul off the now comatose Jonathan Corben and the prototype. The members of Luthor’s tech team were detained as well. Their very presence in a war zone roused plenty of suspicions. Not surprisingly, they refused to say a word. That was probably how Lex Luthor planned out. He made sure everyone who worked for him had plenty of incentive to keep their mouth shut. That made pinning this incident on him exceedingly difficult, but they had more than enough facts to further discredit him.

“Looks like only part of the story here is going to get told,” commented Lois as several UN troops loaded Sergeant Corben into a transport. “The medic said something went insanely wrong in that gizmo. Apparently, the kryptonite coupled with that ridiculously invasive interface did some real damage.”

“I can’t help but feel sorry for him. I doubt Luthor warned him it would get this bad,” said Superman.

“Don’t feel too sorry for him. I’ve read up on this guy’s record. He deserves only _slightly_ more sympathy than Lex Luthor. This story won’t bring him down or send him to jail, but it will get people talking.”

“We’ll need more than that. The longer we allow Lex Luthor to operate, the worse these incidents will be. The man may be a megalomaniacal narcissist, but he’s no fool. He’s also getting better at making ungodly monstrosities that can hurt me.”

“If only it were as simple as catching him making stupid comments on Twitter,” sighed Lois.

“At some point, he’s going to cross a line. That’s when a lot more people start getting hurt. I hope we can stop him before that happens.”

“We will. You’ve got the muscle. I’ve got the truth. How can we possibly lose?”

She affectionately latched onto his arm, which helped set Superman at ease. He had come to appreciate her touch. Lois could be a harsh personality at times, but she was still capable of great compassion. At times, it helped keep him anchored. The care and affection of someone like Lois Lane reminded him that while he might not be from this world, he was still human. At the same time, however, it also evoked complicated feelings that were difficult to confront. And lately, Lois had been more vocal about it.

“While we’re on the subject of talking, I was hoping to discuss something before you flew off on me again,” said Lois, her tone taking on a very different subtext.

“What about?” asked Superman, although he already had a pretty good idea.

“I know you’re tough, but don’t be dense,” she told him. “You and I have made a lot of news together these past few years. I like to think we’ve gotten to know each other pretty well.”

“We have,” he told her sincerely.

“So then why don’t we try to learn a little more? I look at you and I see both a man and a Superman. I already know Superman. But I want to know more about the man. And I’m not talking the kind of things that make the news either. I’m talking about _other_ things…the kinds of things you share with someone you worry about.”

She then reached for his hand and briefly took it in hers. Again, her touch was so soothing. It would have been easy to just hold on and let Lois say what had been on both their minds for quite some time now. However, Superman forced himself to let go and part from her embrace to avoid more conflicting emotions entered the equation.

“I’m sorry, Lois. But I…I can’t do that,” he said to her in a strained tone.

“Wait! Maybe that didn’t come out right. Or maybe a desert war zone isn’t the best place to have this conversation,” said Lois quickly.

“No, it’s not that. There are reasons why we don’t share these things. And I think we need to remind ourselves of that.”

“I don’t need to be reminded. Some of those reasons are too stupid to forget,” said Lois with folded arms.

“Maybe they are, but that doesn’t make them wrong.”

Lois remained unconvinced. There was an awful lot this man wasn’t telling her. She understood early on why he kept certain details of his life private. He had to in order to be the Superman that the world needed him to be. That didn’t mean he couldn’t connect with people. In fact, he needed connect with people to be a better Superman, but he refused to do it. 

Sensing she was getting upset, Superman placed a hand on her shoulder and cupped her chin. There were a lot of things he wanted to say to her. There were things he needed to get out of his system because keeping them bottled up wasn’t making these feelings go away. His thoughts drifted back the experience he had on Paradise Island with Diana. The hard lessons he learned still affected him to this day, both as Clark Kent and as Superman, and one of those lessons involved dealing with difficult emotions.

“I really care about you, Lois. Don’t think for a second that I don’t,” he told her.

“Skip the part where you soften the blow. If I want to listen to a man beat around the bush, I’ll talk to Clark Kent,” sighed Lois.

“Well I’m sure he has his reasons too, but I can only tell you mine,” said Superman, ignoring the irony in mentioning Clark Kent. “You see, a number of years ago I learned the hard what happens when emotions get us untangled in things we can’t control. It doesn’t just put us in danger. It makes it next to impossible to do the right thing.”

“So you think the only solution is to avoid emotional entanglement altogether?” questioned Lois. “I don’t know if that counts as logic on Krypton, but here on Earth we call that bullshit.”

“It’s not a solution because emotional entanglements are not usually a problem for most people. But those people aren’t Superman. They’re not the last of their kind, living in a world that so few understand and even fewer can relate to.”

“Sounds lonely as hell,” muttered Lois.

“It is. But this is how it has to be. Superman can’t afford to have emotional entanglements. I can’t put myself or anyone else through that.”

“But why? Is it because you think I’m not strong enough?”

“No Lois…it’s because this is what I choose.”

That effectively ended the argument. Superman took it beyond circumstances, emotional barriers, and potential danger. He made it a matter of choice and he chose to stop this before it became too painful for both of them. It struck Lois in a way that left her feeling a hard twinge in her heart. However, his every word still echoed with the truth. Being a champion of the truth, she didn’t bother avoiding it.

He continued to caress her chin, casting her a solemn gaze. He offered a slight smile in an effort to not end this on a bad note. Superman then let go, having said everything that needed to be said.

“I’m sorry, Lois,” he told her.

“Don’t be. If you really believe you’re making the right choice, then don’t apologize for it,” said Lois solemnly.

“Just know that I won’t stop caring about you. And I won’t let complicated emotions keep me from doing the right thing.”

“Of course you won’t. You’re Superman,” she said, managing a slight smile.

With those reassuring words, Superman flew off into the sky, kicking up a sharp gust of wind in his wake. Lois watched as he disappeared in a reddish blue blur. For a moment, she hugged her shoulders and sighed. This wasn’t how she hoped the conversation would end, but perhaps it was for the best. Otherwise, it would have just been more painful for the both of them down the line.

As she swallowed her emotions, she couldn’t help but wonder what led Superman to making this choice. He claimed he wanted to do the right thing, but she suspected there was something else influencing that choice.

_‘He always makes the hard choices, but did it have to be THIS hard? He can’t possibly have that many good reasons for remaining unattached. There has to be something else at work here. He’s too human for it to be this simple…relatively speaking. Even if it is better this way, that doesn’t mean I have to like it.’_

Lois continued scrutinizing everything that had just happened. She didn’t usually get this worked up, even in a war zone. This felt like one of those things that just needed time and maybe a few additional distractions. As Lois stood lost in thought, she barely noticed Jonathan Carroll walking up to her.

“You okay, Ms. Lane? You look pretty down for someone who just got the most sought-after exclusive in the world,” he said.

“Believe it or not, the thrill of interviewing Superman wears off fairly quickly,” said Lois. “He only ever gives what people need of him. Nothing more. Nothing less.”

“Sounds to me like your excitement for this story has worn off. It also sounds to me like you could use a drink and a hot meal. If you want, I know where we can get one, even in a war zone like this.”

Jonathan had a suggestive yet sincere undertone. It should have been inappropriate for a moment like this, but for some reason Lois found herself smiling. She hadn’t forgotten that this man had braved a war zone and helped stop the prototype. She also hadn’t forgotten that he had a handsome face. Seeing as how Superman had made his choice, it was only fair that she make one of her own.

“Sure,” she said to him. “I’d like that.”

* * *

**Syria – Present Time**

Their work in this war zone complete, Clark spent most of the day preparing for the trip back to Metropolis. It promised to be a bittersweet flight. His conversation with Lois led to a restless night and a lonely morning. In between packing and making various calls back to Perry, he kept second-guessing the choice he made with Lois. It may have been the right thing to do, but it left him with many wrong feelings.

_‘You did what you had to do, Clark. Quit tormenting yourself over the details. It would never work between you and Lois. Superman can’t get attached. He can’t let emotions cloud his judgment. It’s better this way.’_

That’s what he kept telling himself, hoping it would sink in faster. Right now, he needed to focus less on Superman’s personal affairs and more on Clark Kent’s professional affairs.

After gathering as many facts and footage as they could from the front lines, they hitched a ride with a UN convoy back to a hotel in the demilitarized zone. He had a chance to meet up with Lois as Clark Kent, who said Jonathan Carroll had some footage they could share for the story. After being debriefed by the UN and going over the story, they went their separate ways for the evening. Clark managed to maintain his composure around Lois. It would probably be awkward for a while, even when he was out of costume. But he expected it to get easier as time went on.

Once all the equipment was packed, he left his hotel room and made his way down the hall towards Lois’ room. Their flight was scheduled to take off in a little under two hours and Perry expected them to be finished with the story before they landed.

“Lois! Are you ready to go?” Clark called out as he knocked on the door. “I’ve got everything packed. Our taxi should be here in twenty minutes.”

There was no response at first, but he heard footsteps behind the door. Lois was usually pretty punctual. Most of the time, she was the one who ended up knocking on his door to remind him of the schedule. With a touch of concern, he knocked again.

“Hey Lois! Are you okay?” he called out.

This time, the door opened, revealing Lois in a white bathrobe with wet hair.

“Cool your jets, Smallville. I heard you the first time,” she said. “I’ll be ready in a few.”

“Well don’t take too long. Perry’s not being very flexible with this deadline.”

“Don’t worry. If he gets moody, I’ll set him straight,” said Lois confidently.

Her tone and demeanor surprised him, especially after the conversation she had with him as Superman the other day. It further heightened his suspicions. Something was definitely amiss here.

“You sound unusually bold this morning. Are you sure everything’s alright?” he asked her.

Before she could answer, a voice rang out from the bathroom. In being so lost in his own thoughts, Clark didn’t realize that there was someone else in the room with her.

“Hey Lois! I’m done shaving. The sink’s all yours,” said Jonathan as he stepped out of the bathroom, wearing only a towel.

At that moment, his suspicions turned to awkwardness. No further words were necessary now. Clark was able to piece together the situation using none of his superpowers and only his basic reporting skills. He noticed Lois and Jonathan’s clothes messily strewn along the hotel room floor. Somehow, Lois’ bra ended up draped over the TV, hinting that it had been discarded quite recklessly. In addition, the sheets of the bed had been noticeably wrinkled. It had all the tell-tale signs of a rather passionate night.

Naturally, Clark shifted uncomfortably as he made the connections. Jonathan shifted somewhat as well when he saw him. The only one who didn’t seem uncomfortable was Lois, who just kept grinning.

“Oh…hello Clark,” said Jonathan sheepishly while drying his hair.

“Good morning, Mr. Carroll,” said Clark awkwardly.

“Don’t make this more hilarious than it needs to be, Smallville,” said Lois curtly. “I’ll meet you downstairs in a bit. I’m sure you have plenty of questions.”

“Not as many as you think,” he said under his breath.

“I’ll answer them anyways. Now go. We’ve got a deadline to meet, remember?”

She then closed the door, leaving Clark in a state of stunned silence. He had enough to process already. This only added to the strain. It didn’t help that he could still hear them talking with his super-hearing.

“Well that was more awkward than it needed to be,” he heard Jonathan say. “Clark looked like someone just ran over his dog. Did you two have a thing or something?”

“What? Me and Clark? Of course not,” he heard Lois reply. “He’s a friend…a really good friend. If he wanted to lift my spirits the way you did last night, he had more than his share of chances. He wouldn’t be the first guy either.”

“So what does that make me?” he asked her.

“Depends on how you look at it. Right now, I see you as the lucky guy who chose to take a chance – and in a war zone no less. But that’s just my opinion.”

“Mmm…I’ll take it.”

He then heard their lips touch. Clark had to turn away before he was tempted to look with his X-ray vision. With his head held low and his hands in his pockets, he made his way towards the back to his room to gather his things. He didn’t need to see Lois kissing another man. That was her business. But after seeing how vulnerable she had been yesterday, it surprised him that she made a choice like this so quickly. Given the circumstances, maybe he shouldn’t have been.

_‘Well, it’s official now. I’ve made my choice. Lois made hers. You’re a lucky man, Jonathan Carroll…you and so many others like you. You get to take a chance on someone. But Superman…he can’t take that chance. Superman – and Clark Kent by default – has to be alone.’_

* * *

**Themyscira - Diana’s Quarters**

“How could you do this, Diana? How could you make such a reckless decision _again_?!” exclaimed a furious Queen Hippolyta.

Diana could offer no response that wouldn’t have enraged her mother even more. She remained silent, paralyzed by her mother’s harsh gaze and outraged words. All those earlier concerns she had about confronting her sisters now took on a much more pressing tone. Now the idea of becoming queen was the least of her worries.

Hippolyta now stood only a few feet away from her daughter, still angrily clutching the magazine and the glass orb. She looked down on Diana the same way she looked down on a wounded harpy. She knew what she did was an affront to the Amazon code. She also knew it directly contradicted her commitment to winning back the respect of her sisters and becoming a true Amazon. But the worst part of all – and the part that wounded Hippolyta the most – was that Diana had to know on some levels how much this would hurt her mother.

“Well?! Are you going to explain yourself?” the queen yelled.

“What’s there to explain? I can’t tell you what you want to hear. Even if I did, you wouldn’t believe me,” said Diana flatly.

“So you’re not even going to attempt to lie? Even when you’ve clearly become so good at it these past four years?” she scoffed.

“This isn’t about lies. Do you honestly think I would hoard these forbidden artifacts just to hurt you?”

“Collecting forbidden artifacts is hardly the worst crime I see before me,” said Hippolyta, “But doing so after you promised me you would commit yourself to becoming a true Amazon? A promise you made to me and all your sisters?”

“I never intended to break that promise.”

“Well it’s too late now!” the queen shouted.

In an angry fit, she threw the magazine across the room. She was a mother betrayed, hurt by the daughter she cherished so dearly. She believed Diana when she committed to atoning for her transgression. She supported her as she fought and struggled to become the greatest warrior in Themyscira. Now she found out that she never truly atoned. Her daughter’s heart and mind had been tainted by man’s world. And this time, she had no excuses.

“I can’t believe this! I don’t want to believe it, but you won’t even try to deny it!” yelled Hippolyta. “One encounter with one man – an accident of fate four years ago – and that’s all it took to corrupt my daughter!”

“Mother, stop for a moment and calm yourself. I know what I’ve done. Yelling at me isn’t going to change that,” said Diana.

“Well what am I supposed to do? You still haven’t even tried to apologize!” her mother explained.

“On the honor of my sword, I was going to confront you about this. I swear!”

“Don’t belittle your mother, Diana. Am I to believe you intended to just sit down one day and reveal that you never meant what you said four years ago? That your curiosity about man’s world was more important than your own mother?”

“My love for you and my sisters has _never_ been in doubt. This doesn’t change that.”

“And when were you going to bring this up? After you had been crowned queen?” Hippolyta went on. “Was that your endgame? Wait until you had the authority to get away with your crimes?”

“Damn it, stop assuming I think _that_ little of my family!” said Diana, now getting frustrated as well.

“Well you clearly think highly of the corrupt world that every Amazons has sworn to oppose. Clearly, I wasn’t detailed enough when I described the many reasons why we oppose that world. I thought I had articulated clearly why your experience with one man was an anomaly and nothing more. I even prayed to Athena that she would show you the wisdom to understand this. I suppose my prayers weren’t answered. For all I know, you would have rejected them too.”

Hippolyta’s outrage gave way to a sterner demeanor. Diana was once again at a loss, unable to say anything that could possibly temper her mother’s state. There were so many issues she wanted to talk about. These issues had been plaguing her since before Kal-El ever arrived on their shores. This code she swore to uphold and these values the Amazons championed left her so conflicted and she believed that the love she had for her mother and sisters could resolve that conflict. It was now clear to her that she had been wrong.

Finally, as despair set in, Diana held her head low. She still couldn’t bring herself to apologize. She also couldn’t bring herself to argue with her mother any further. It felt like her heart, spirit, and mind had betrayed her. Whatever punishment her mother administered this time could never do justice to the sorrow she now felt.

“Then what are we to do, mother? What can we do?” asked Diana solemnly.

Seeing her daughter bow her head in shame only reaffirmed all the terrible feelings Hippolyta endured. She desperately wanted to purge her daughter of this corruption. It wasn’t fair that these acts could undermine all these years of love and support.

As she fumed in anger, her gaze shifted towards the glass orb she still had in her hand. She remembered that Diana told her that the man she encountered created this with his god-like powers. It must have been an impressive feat to a young, vulnerable mind. It was more than enough to corrupt her daughter to the point that she would betray her sisters and everything they stood for.

Now holding up the glass orb in front of Diana, she turned her attention to the man that she never got to confront. This man might not have been Hercules, but he still found a way to wound her in the worst possible way. As a mother and a queen, his corruption had to end now.

“This cannot stand, Diana. You need to make a choice – your sisters or this man,” said Hippolyta in a low, menacing tone, “And since I can no longer trust you to act as a true Amazon, I suppose I’ll have to make part of that choice for you!”

Then, in a show of blind anger and pent up anguish, Hippolyta threw the glass orb down on the floor, shattering it right before Diana. When she saw this, her despair turned to horror.

“Mother no!” Diana cried out.

“Be silent, Diana,” said Hippolyta coldly. “You are an Amazon. It’s high time you accept what that entails.”

As the echoes of the shattered glass orb reverberated with her mother’s harsh words, Diana fell to her knees in a fit of shock. Her whole world stopped. Every overwhelming emotion ceased and her thoughts froze. With a distant gaze, she gathered some of the shattered glass and held it in her hand.

This innocuous object, which had come to symbolize the connection she forged with Kal-El that fateful day they met, lay broken and lost. Her own mother, who she had always loved and trusted, took something from her that meant so much. For a moment, she couldn’t process how this made her feel. It was only when she clutched the broken shards in her hand and let them crumble to dust that a new range of feelings came over her.

“An Amazon…is that all I’m meant to become?” said Diana in her daze.

As she watched the dust fall from her hands, a powerful new emotion gripped Diana. Anger, outrage, despair, and sorrow took on a whole new dimension in light of a new feeling. In seeing her mother destroy this precious relic, Diana realized something that she should have realized long ago. Looking up at her mother, she no longer saw the nurturing woman who inspired her to become a great warrior. She saw a woman who personified the very antithesis of what she strived to be.

“Don’t bother answering. I already know what you’ll say,” she said with more disdain than she had ever dared. “I always knew you were tough with your values, mother. But I never thought you would be this _dense_.”

“Be careful with your words, Diana. You are not just speaking to your mother. You are speaking to your queen!” said Hippolyta firmly.

“No. I’m not. You don’t deserve that title. You don’t deserve to be called queen any more than the Amazons deserve to call themselves warriors,” said Diana as she rose up to confront her mother.

“You’re only making this worse for yourself. Quit now and spare yourself further indignation!” Hippolyta demanded.

“Stop talking to me like I’m a child!” spat Diana.

“Then quit acting like one by insulting your heritage!”

“I’d rather be a child than a hypocrite,” scoffed Diana, “Because as far as I’m concerned, that’s all our heritage affords us. If you can’t see that, then you’re just deluding to yourself.”

Hippolyta’s regal demeanor faltered at her daughter’s cold words. Her authority as her mother and her queen no longer carried any weight. Diana now looked at her with a level of disgust that caught her off-guard. It was one thing to throw around petty insults, but this was something far more egregious. Even the strongest, toughest queen could only handle so much.

In seeing her mother falter, Diana became bolder. This new sense of clarity completely changed her outlook on who she was, where she came from, and what she aspired to be. It felt so obvious. Someone should have realized it sooner. It only revealed the depths of her mother’s hypocrisy and that of her sisters.

“Every day, from the moment I could wield a sword, you and my sisters preach the values of an Amazon warrior. You speak of compassion, love, respect, and honor,” said Diana, speaking over her mother with unrelenting scorn. “I embraced all those values with all my heart. I wanted nothing more than to be the greatest champion of our sisters and our legacy.”

“And you still can,” said Hippolyta, now trying to salvage this growing restatement.

“You’ve just proven I can’t…because you’ve just proven that the Amazons never actually practiced those values. They only ever applied them to each other, never the world beyond them.”

“That world is corrupt!” Hippolyta argued.

“It doesn’t matter!” Diana retorted with greater fervor. “Either they apply to everyone or they apply to no one. Now maybe I’d have accepted this if I didn’t know there were parts of man’s world that weren’t corrupt. But I _do_ know. Kal-El is living proof that there are parts of that world which deserve those values. Neither you nor any of my sisters will acknowledge that. You’re too clouded by your hatred of all men and for what reason? Because of crimes that one man and his army committed?”

“Don’t you _dare_ make light of those crimes.”

“Speak for yourself, mother. You’re the one using them as an excuse cling to your hatred and further your hypocrisy! For just one moment, let go of that hatred and think about those values that we’re supposed to uphold. Can you truly say that you champion those values when you apply them only to those you see fit? Who are you to determine who is worthy? And who are we to blindly trust your judgment?”

These were questions that no Amazon had dared ask. Growing up, Diana often confounded Hippolyta with questions of man’s world and the traditions the Amazons had in dealing with it. For years, she had been able to navigate those questions, providing her daughter only with what she deemed necessary for understanding. She had been willing to attribute these questions to those of a curious child, but the woman standing before her was no child.

The traditions that insulated Themyscira from man’s world had been maintained for centuries. Hippolyta had a long list of reasons why such traditions had propagated. She could’ve spent a week listing them all. But without even listing one, she came to a painful yet inescapable conclusion. None of these reasons were justified. She might not have agreed with Diana’s new interpretation of Amazon values, but she couldn’t disagree with it. As a result, the queen of the Amazons responded only with silence, further adding to the tension.

A tipping point had been reached. This time, Hippolyta could not or would not give Diana the answers she sought. Faced with such painful revelations, a difficult decision awaited them both. Her mother had made a decision before she even entered her room. Now Diana had a choice to make and, as Kal-El had shown her, she needed to make the right one.

“I see. If this is how it’s going to be, so be it. I can no longer be a part of it,” said Diana with a mixture of anger and sorrow.

“What are you saying, Diana?” asked Hippolyta. “Are you not even going to _try_ and understand why we do what we do?”

“Why should I bother? You and the rest of my sisters are unable to see through your past pain. And so long as that pain guides your judgment, there can be no understanding…only excuses.”

Rather than waste her time arguing with her mother, Diana turned this difficult choice into difficult actions. She casually removed her Amazon attire and discarded it like a dirty rag. Now fully nude, she stormed past her mother, lightly shoving her along the way. Once she arrived at her dresser, she opened it to reveal the uniform that she wore into battle. It set her apart from her sisters, which earned her plenty of criticism. Now she no longer cared what they thought or how they felt.

With her mother’s harsh eye watching her every step of the way, she put on the uniform along with the tiara and the Bracelets of Submission. She also retrieved her magic lasso and sword, both of which she earned for herself. In her eyes, these were no longer Amazon weapons. These were the weapons of a different kind of warrior. She could not be the warrior her mother wanted her to be. Instead, Diana would have to become her own warrior.

“Whatever you’re thinking of doing, Diana – I assure you it’s a mistake,” said Hippolyta sternly, still trying to sound more like a queen rather than an anxious mother.

“It would be an even bigger mistake for me to stay here and surround myself with more hypocrisy,” said Diana.

“You cannot run from your transgressions, Diana!” said her mother with increasing desperation.

“I’m not running. I’m saving you and our sisters the trouble. I’m leaving. There’s no need to hold a tribunal. There’s no need to seek council with the gods. I’m exiling myself from Themyscira.”

“Are you listening to yourself? This is your home. I am your mother. The Amazons are your sisters. You cannot just reject your fate!”

“I don’t know what my fate is anymore, mother. And you don’t know either. But I know it isn’t here. It’s out there…in man’s world.”

The idea of her daughter flying off into the unknown, venturing into a world where devious men ruled without and vulnerable women were exploited, terrified the Queen of the Amazons. Visions of men like Hercules taking Diana and tormenting her in the way she had been tormented was too much to bear. It filled her with such dread that she abandoned her regal poise and tried to confront Diana only as a worried mother. But it was too late.

Hippolyta tried to reach out to her, but Diana shook off her gesture. Now armed with her weapons and attire, she retrieved a simple sack from under her bed and stuffed it with various supplies, including bread and booklets. She then opened the door to the balcony adjacent to her room and stood near the edge. This balcony gave her a clear view of the only home she had ever known. But now she looked at it with such disgust. It made clear to Hippolyta that Diana was not just running off to fume. She was really leaving her home and she had no intention of coming back.

“Please Diana…that world will only destroy you,” cried Hippolyta, her emotions overwhelming her tone.

“I am a warrior. I am _not_ easily destroyed,” said Diana strongly as she looked out over Themyscira for what might be the last time.

“This isn’t just some battle against monsters, demons, or undead armies. This is the world of man! You have no idea the horrors you’ll see!”

“Then I will confront them. But I’m going to do something that no Amazon has dared to do for centuries. I’m going to have faith that the good I see in man’s world will overshadow the bad.”

“And if it doesn’t?” questioned Hippolyta.

“Then I’ll fight it the same way I’ve learned to fight everything that stands to taint all that is good,” said Diana without hesitation. “I may be leaving Themyscira, but I am still a warrior.”

“You don’t fully know what you are, Diana. You may think your heart is in the right place, but you have no idea the consequences of your actions!”

“I’ll fight those too. I’ll fight whoever and whatever I must to be the warrior I want to be. It doesn’t matter what I don’t know. It only matters what I do with the knowledge I have. And I’m going to do the right thing, regardless of the consequences.”

Every word she spoke felt so right and so just. For the first time in her life, Diana was seeking her own answers to the burning questions that once plagued her. It was a powerful moment that filled her with such determination and drive.

At the same time, it tore at her heart in a way nothing else had. She was essentially saying goodbye to her mother and her home. As angry as she was, she couldn’t stop loving them. She looked back from the balcony and saw that her mother’s outrage had given way to sorrow. She in turn shared that sorrow, but she wouldn’t let it slow her down. This had to be done and she couldn’t afford to second-guess herself. With her heart still breaking, she did her best to convey these difficult emotions to her mother.

“I’m sorry, mother. I really am,” said Diana solemnly. “I’ll always love you and my sisters, but I cannot be the warrior you want me to be. Maybe one day you’ll understand. But right now, this is my choice. Goodbye.”

After casting her mother one last glance of sorrow, Diana turned around and flew off. Hippolyta made a half-hearted attempt to reach out to her, knowing that it wouldn’t have made a difference. All she could do was step out onto the balcony and watch her daughter leave.

“Goodbye, my darling princess,” said Hippolyta through heavy sobs. “Be safe. Be strong. If the gods have any mercy at all, they’ll continue to protect you.”

* * *

**Metropolis – Daily Planet**

“Not bad, Kent. Not great, but not bad,” said the always critical Perry White.

“Thank you, Chief. That might be the highest compliment you’ve given me all year,” said Clark as he stood across from the editor-in-chief’s desk.

“Don’t let it go to your head. This isn’t the smoking gun we were hoping for,” said Perry. “Lex Luthor won’t need an army of lawyers to deny any involvement in this clusterfuck, but he’ll need more than a good PR team to deal with the backlash. Lexcorp’s stock has already taken a hefty hit and a lot of people are asking questions he doesn’t want them asking. It won’t put him behind bars, but it will piss him off and that’s the next best thing.”

He stopped short of calling this story a success. Perry didn’t like using words like that when it came to Lex Luthor. All too often, that egotistical madman found a way to avoid justice. There could be no success until Luthor was behind bars for the rest of his life. As Clark Kent, it was a frustrating standard by which to operate. But as Superman, he understood better than Perry the importance of succeeding.

Clark did what he could with the facts. Upon returning from Syria, he detailed everything that he and Lois found with respect to the chemical attack, the deployment of the prototype, the involvement of Sergeant John Corben, and the tech team that Lexcorp sent into the field. In addition, Jonathan Carroll provided some detailed video footage that had already gone viral with every major news outlet. There was officially a connection between Lexcorp and the development of dangerous weapons that had been deployed illegally. This should have been a devastating blow for Lex Luthor and his interests, but Clark didn’t expect it to put him out of business. At the very least, it would slow him down.

Having done his part, Clark left the story in Perry’s hands and trusted him to do what he did best with it. He was ready to move onto the next story, hoping that this would be the one that would take Lex Luthor down.

“Wait a sec, Clark. There’s one more thing I need to mention. It’s about Lois,” said Perry, stopping Clark before he could leave his office.

“What about her?” he asked incredulously.

“Don’t play dumb. You’re too damn smart and too damn decent. Now I usually don’t like to get involved in the personal affairs of my employees, but Lois hooking up with some hotshot war correspondent was a heck of a curveball.”

“I understand completely, sir. That’s why I avoided the subject. I figured you would want to discuss that with her privately,” said Clark.

“I already have. But that’s not what concerns me,” said Perry, now speaking to Clark on a more personal level. “Clark, you and Lois have been joined at the hip since you started here. But I’ve known her longer. I know what kind of woman she is and you probably know as well as I do that she’s in a league all her own.”

“I’m not sure what you’re implying,” said Clark, his discomfort with the subject now painfully apparent.

“I don’t mean to imply anything. It’s just that…Lois has always walked to the beat of her own drum. She’s fearless, tough, and determined to a fault. That’s probably why Superman gives her so many exclusives.”

Clark had to stop himself from reacting. There was a good reason why Perry White was such a good news man. He could pick up on things others couldn’t. He just listed all the traits that drew him to Lois when he first made Superman public. Those same traits drew him to her in ways he never acknowledged. Now those traits had led her on a path that would ensure they would never be more than friends.

“Now I don’t know nearly as much about this Jonathan Carroll guy,” Perry continued. “A friend of mine at the Star told me he’s a pretty standup guy. He’s a bit dense at times and doesn’t play well with authority, but his heart is always in the right place in everything he does. That’s a big deal for Lois. And I know when she finds something – or in this case, someone – that she really wants, she’ll go for it. She won’t apologize, make excuses, or let anything stand in her way. Since you two work so closely, I need to know if this is going to be an issue. If so, let’s talk about it now and be done with it.”

Clark had been hoping to avoid this conversation. He had heard enough about this subject since he got back. Word around the office spread quickly about Lois’ new boyfriend and with his hearing, he couldn’t easily ignore it. He tried not to let it affect him. But Perry White, while not known for involving himself in the personal affairs of others, could pick up on the subtleties that even his super hearing could not.

Everyone at the office knew that he and Lois had a close working relationship. They worked so closely together that some suspected that there was something going on, but they usually laughed it off. Those same people also speculated Lois’ had something going with Superman. For a time, Clark even entertained some of those assumptions. But he made a choice, both as Superman and as Clark Kent. Lois made her choice as well with Jonathan Carroll. Now people would have to entertain different suspicions.

“What Lois does in her personal life is none of my business,” said Clark, plain and simply. “I don’t know much about Jonathan, but I trust Lois’ judgment so I don’t think it’ll be a problem.”

“Are you sure about that? Lois does have a history of questionable judgment,” asked Perry, still not convinced.

“Yes, Mr. White. I’m sure. And so is she. That’s all there is to it. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have work to do.”

Clark didn’t expect Perry to be convinced, but he had earned enough trust to convince him that he didn’t need to worry about this. He chose not to belabor the issue, letting Clark leave the office. He didn’t expect Perry to bring it up again. He had enough on his plate in dealing with Lex Luthor. That was fine with Clark. The less he had to dwell on this, the better.

However, as soon as he left Perry’s office, Jimmy Olsen was there waiting for him. Unlike Perry, Jimmy didn’t mind belaboring difficult issues.

“There you are, Clark. I was hoping to catch up before you buried yourself in your computer screen again,” said Jimmy as he followed Clark back to his desk.

“You don’t have to lie to me, Jimmy. I know you were eavesdropping. So skip the part where you pretend you’ve got photos you want to go over,” said Clark curtly.

“Good because that saves me the trouble of wasting a roll of film. I just need to make sure my ears weren’t playing tricks on me. Did you really just say that Lois hooking up with some guy doesn’t bother you?”

“He’s not just some guy, Jimmy. His name is Jonathan and he’s a big reason why we got this story in the first place,” said Clark, trying to use the same tone he had with Perry.

“I don’t usually like to steal Perry’s thunder, but don’t play dumb!” said Jimmy, now standing in front of him so that he couldn’t walk away. “Seriously, Clark, you can’t be _this_ casual about it. I know you. I’ve seen the way you look at her. It’s kind of like the way she looks at Superman…no offence.”

“None taken,” said Clark, the irony of Jimmy’s words not lost on him.

“With that in mind, I know for a fact this can’t sit well with you. If not for personal reasons, then definitely for professional reasons. She’s now with some guy and you’re basically a walking third wheel. Are you really just going to let this happen and not say a word?”

“It is what it is, Jimmy,” said Clark. “It doesn’t have to be a big deal. It doesn’t have to be a big story. And right now, I’d rather not talk about it.”

Much to Jimmy Olsen’s dismay, Clark walked around him and back towards his desk. This issue had already caused him too much distress. Right now, he needed to distract himself with work. He couldn’t let himself think about Lois, her relationships, or whatever relationship he might have had with her. At this point, it wouldn’t be right of him to go back on his choice. He had to live with it and so did everybody else.

“So that’s really how it’s going to be?” said Jimmy, casting his friend a bemused look.

“Like I said, Jimmy, it is what it is,” said Clark.

“And it’s like I said, it’s a load of crap,” he retorted. “I’m starting to really worry about you, Clark. Lois is one of only a handful of people you actually talk to on a non-professional basis. It’s like you actively go out of your way to having as few friends as possible. I may just be a freelance photographer with a high school education and way too much student loan debt, but I know that’s not healthy. And you of all people don’t deserve that.”

“I appreciate your concern, Jimmy.”

“I’m actually more confused than concerned. You’ve got a lot going for yourself, Clark…way more than most people working at a newspaper in the internet age. Don’t waste it by shutting everybody out. It’s not fair to you or your friends for that matter.”

It probably came off harsher than he expected, but it got the point across. Clark didn’t respond, which was enough to make Jimmy shake his head in frustration and leave him to his work. When he got to his desk, he finally let his dismay show.

Letting out a solemn sigh, Clark turned his attention to the pictures he had on his desk. He had only two, one of his parents and another of him and Lois. Seeing them helped remind him of the importance of his decision. Being alone might have been the right thing to do in order to be the Superman he needed to be. That still didn’t make it any less strenuous. But with men like Lex Luthor in the world, he might have to cope. It was the only way he could be ready for whatever challenges awaited him.

* * *

**Themyscira – Temple of Hera**

“Oh great goddess, Hera! Hear my prayers! Feel my sorrow! I humbly request the aid of the gods!”

Hippolyta had never prayed so hard before in her life. Not since her darkest hour at the hands of Hercules had she felt so weak and lost. The anger she felt towards her daughter had given way to overwhelming sorrow. It still burned her heart, knowing her daughter had strayed from the path of the Amazons. Now she was gone, taking with her any hope she had left that one day she would lead her sisters into the coming battles. Beyond the burden of her legacy, it hurt Hippolyta even more that she had failed. The love she had as a mother just wasn’t enough to keep her daughter from leaving. 

At this point, there was nothing more she could do. She hadn’t even announced Diana’s departure to the rest of the Amazons. Many would be undoubtedly devastated while some like Aleka would be vindicated. Nothing like this had ever happened to the Amazons. There had been sisters in the past who defied the Amazon code and were subsequently exiled, but none had ever willingly exiled themselves. None had ever been expected to succeed the queen one day either. This loss and this burden was too great, even for a queen to bear.

The Queen of the Amazons spent all night in the Temple of Hera, sealing herself in the central shrine where a statue of Hera stood adorned with numerous Amazonian artifacts. Few Amazons were ever permitted into this shrine. Only those who needed to communicate directly with the gods could enter and right now, only the gods could guide Hippolyta in her hour of need.

“Please, my goddess,” cried Hippolyta, “My heart is broken and my spirit is wounded. Take pity on me, for I have failed you. Now I need your help to rectify that failure.”

With every ounce of faith and piety in her soul, she prayed at the foot of the statue. The various candles and torches illuminating the shrine flickered. For hours, she received no response. The gods had been unusually silent lately, which had triggered rumors of unrest on Olympus. None of that mattered to Hippolyta. Only her lost daughter concerned her.

Just when it felt like she had no tears left to shed, she felt a familiar gust of air through the chamber. Moments later, the flickering flames changed color, shifting from orange to blue. They also began sparking with miniature thunderbolts. Hippolyta soon heard footsteps near the statue.

“Hera? Is that you?” said Hippolyta desperately.

“No. It is not,” said a deep, masculine tone.

The queen shot up and saw the King of the Gods himself emerge from the shadow of the statue. She gasped at his imposing presence. Zeus only rarely appeared before the Amazons. Hera was supposed to be the one responsible for their blessings. However, every Amazon understood that Zeus’ authority trumped all others on Olympus.

“Lord Zeus,” she said Hippolyta, instinctively bowing in the presence of a god.

“Please rise, Hippolyta. There’s no need for that,” said the King of the Gods.

“Forgive me, my Lord. My heart is too wounded to stand before you as Queen of the Amazons.”

“I know. Hera has already informed me of what has transpired. She and the rest of the gods are quite upset. That is why I saw fit to tend to this matter personally. I think I might be the only one on Olympus that understands your plight.”

He spoke with a subtle undertone, one intended to avoid scrutiny from any god or mortal. In this sacred shrine, every word and every thought was strictly between worshipper and god. Hippolyta understood why it needed to be this way and bowed her head solemnly again.

The King of the Gods offered Hippolyta his hand to help her up, which she solemnly took. She returned to her feet and attempted to stand before Zeus as a queen should. This proved difficult, but she was still an Amazon. She still had a strength that put her above mortal women. That same strength is part of what had earned her the respect of Zeus and every other god on Olympus. However, she would need more than strength to get through this.

“I know how precious Diana is to you, Hippolyta. I have watched you raise her since the moment she drew breath,” said Zeus. “I’ve never seen a mother give more love to her daughter.”

“But it wasn’t enough. I…I lost her. I pushed her away,” said Hippolyta, choking on her every word.

“You didn’t push her away. Diana was a victim of circumstance. You could not control how that man she met influenced her. You also could not control the decisions she made that led her to this moment. Take it from someone who has seen many of his children make questionable decisions. It is something even gods struggle with.”

“So it’s too late? Is my daughter truly lost to me?” asked Hippolyta sadly.

“Your daughter still breathes and still wields the spirit of an Amazon. She is not lost. However, she has made her choice and it cannot be unmade.”

Hippolyta tried to hide her sobs, but more tears still formed in her eyes. Zeus, in a rare show of compassion, wiped them away. For a moment, even his mighty demeanor faltered. Were this any other Amazon, he would have had no issue delivering his divine judgment. But Diana was no ordinary Amazon, nor was she an ordinary woman by any measure. Even she had no idea how special she was.

“What must I do, Lord Zeus? What _can_ I do?” asked Hippolyta, finally gathering herself.

“Were the circumstances more favorable, I would organize a mission into man’s world to convince Diana to return. However, you know as well as every other god on Olympus that our circumstances are far from favorable,” said Zeus.

“Yes, this growing chaos you speak of,” sighed the queen. “I know it takes precedent.”

“Not by much, mind you. I’m afraid it is getting worse. I even suspect there might be discord among my fellow gods that seeks to fuel the chaos. While I am unable to divert my energies to address it, I suspect it will incur more threats. As such, I need the Amazons to remain on Themyscira. They are still Olympus’ best line of defense.”

“In other words, I’m just let Diana wander about in man’s world? Worrying endlessly that she’ll be the victim of mortal man’s cruelty?”

“Diana can take care of herself. She has demonstrated that time and again through combat and training. She can handle the dangers of man’s world,” said Zeus confidently.

“It’s not just the dangers that worry me. Tell me in your infinite wisdom that you are not concerned about the harm she might incur. And I’m not just talking about physical harm either. You and I both know that the _circumstances_ of Diana’s upbringing make her especially vulnerable.”

The air throughout the shrine grew colder and the sparking flames flickered, revealing a distinct unease within Zeus. He still hid it behind his godly demeanor, but Hippolyta knew it was there. She almost tried reaching out to embrace him. However, she knew that could have dangerous consequences, none of which they were prepared to deal with at the moment.

“Those circumstances you speak of must remain between us and us alone,” said Zeus sternly.

“I know. And I have every intention of doing so, even if it means lying to her and to every other god I worship,” said Hippolyta solemnly.

“For that reason, you are to announce Diana’s self-exile in the morning. Hera and I will be there. We will tell your sisters that Diana’s spirit has led her away from her home, at least for now. She is welcome to return, although she will still be subject to judgment. Do you understand?”

“I understand, my Lord,” said Hippolyta, “Although given the extent of our argument, I doubt Diana will return anytime soon.”

“Have faith in her, Hippolyta. She will not abandon you or her sisters. It just isn’t in her nature,” assured Zeus. “But for now, the Amazons must press on. They must continue battling the growing chaos emanating from Tartarus. I know you were hoping that Diana would lead the charge into this battle, but this is how it must be.”

Zeus made it clear to Hippolyta that she could not continue to wallow in sorrow. She had to accept the situation. Diana had left. There was no bringing her back. In addition, she still had duties as Queen of the Amazons. So with the strength she had gained from centuries of hardship, Hippolyta swallowed her sorrow and regained her poise.

“If that is the will of fate and the gods, so be it,” she said. “I’ll carry on, as you wish…despite my failings.”

“Your heart may be heavy and your spirit may be wounded, but make no mistake, Hippolyta – you are still as great a warrior as you’ve ever been,” said Zeus. “Continue fighting and one day, your path will cross with Diana again. I’m sure of it.”

“Even if it does, could we ever be mother and daughter again?”

“You are her mother and she is your daughter. Don’t forget that. She certainly won’t,” said Zeus.

“I want to believe that. But now there’s so much distance between us. With all this growing chaos, it can only get worse. What if it only drives us further apart? What if it ends up exposing some of the secrets that I…that _we_ have been keeping from her?”

Zeus scolded Hippolyta for even contemplating such a possibility. The mere mention of such secrets was enough to worry even the King of the Gods. He knew the consequences of revealing those secrets even better than Hippolyta. That was why he had no intention of ever letting them come out. He made sure Hippolyta understood that.

“That will not happen. I _won’t_ allow it,” said Zeus, placing his hands on her shoulders so that he could feel the power radiating from his being.

“I apologize, Lord Zeus,” said Hippolyta. “I didn’t mean to…”

“No more apologies. No more brooding. You are an Amazon, Hippolyta. Through loss and hardship, you will continue to fight as the warrior you are. By that same merit, the gods will continue to instill order in a world that has long since stopped worshipping us. I will see to it that Olympus remains intact. You must see to it that your world stays intact as well. That is how it must be…with or without Diana’s presence.”

Having made his divine will clear, Zeus stepped back from Hippolyta and disappeared in a blinding burst of lightning. Hippolyta only nodded to acknowledge his wishes. She had every intention of seeing them through, regardless of the festering scar on her heart.

She had no other choice and neither did Zeus. The Amazons must continue fighting and the gods must continue ruling. The growing chaos, fueled by growing upheavals in the world of man, would only grow. And if Zeus’ suspicions regarding a possible plot from within Olympus, then it could only get worse.

* * *

**Lexcorp Corporate Headquarters – R &D Lab**

_‘I suppose I should be furious. I go through the trouble of developing this brilliant prototype and it makes an international spectacle in a war zone. My stocks are down, my lawyers are working overtime, and the Daily Planet is once again giving me migraines. But as disappointing as this failure might be, it is none-the-less informative. A lesser genius would despair, but I’m hardly a lesser genius.’_

There was a lot to be learned and a lot to be desired from the events in Syria. Lex Luthor went to great lengths to ensure his latest creation had the perfect environment to demonstrate its capabilities. For the most part, it went as expected. His prototype left quite an impression. While it would have been nice to see it humiliate Superman, this might have been hoping for too much. Since that alien showed up, he came to expect this sort of frustration. He was still learning how to channel it and this latest ordeal presented a unique set of challenges.

After receiving news of the prototype’s failure, Lex ordered his overseas team and some contacts within the UN to retrieve what they could. This included the very wounded body of Sergeant John Corben, who his doctors told him was suffering from some sort of radiation poisoning due to the kryptonite. Now he remained in a chemically induced coma within a special containment chamber that Lex set up in his private lab. This chamber had arrived at his lab earlier this morning. While it took quite a bit of extortion and bribery to keep him from being tried on war crimes, he believed there was still plenty to be gained from investing in John Corben.

He spent the last few hours analyzing his current state. Within the containment chamber, the sergeant remained deathly still and surrounded by a special cocktail of fluids meant to keep his body going. His skin was now tinted green and most of his organs had failed. By all accounts, this man should be dead. His ability to cling to life hinted that he had discovered something.

“Interesting. The radiation from the kryptonite triggered a reaction from the chemical agents deployed by the rebels,” said Luthor as he crunched the numbers in his head and on a computer. “Now your cells have been saturated with radiation, but they’re not dying. I don’t know if that makes you a lucky man, Sergeant. But it certainly makes you useful.”

Lex began developing ways in which to exploit this new discovery. It may leave Sergeant Corben in a great deal of discomfort, but he would surely embrace the chance to use it to crush Superman. The man’s hatred for that alien rivaled only his.

Sergeant Corben blamed Superman for being dishonorably discharged. He told him all about the secret operation that Superman obstructed. He prevented a drone strike that would have killed a major terror cell, but he stopped it because it would have also killed civilians. Corben took it upon himself to complete the mission, even after his superiors told him to pull out. He was among a growing number of military men who saw Superman as a threat. They were all trying to develop countermeasures, but they were all painfully insufficient. As it stood, Lex Luthor was the only one with the genius and drive to take down that alien.

“At the very least, you proved that metallo could withstand a fight against Superman,” Lex continued as he finished his analysis. “He went right for you rather than attack the outer armor. He must have figured that he could not break it. That means I now have a foundation for my next weapon against Superman.”

He then turned his attention to the center of his lab where the remains of the prototype had been laid out. Most of the lesser components had been confiscated by the UN, but he made sure he salvaged the most important pieces. This included the fragment of kryptonite that he used as a power source. But it also included a very special component that was not of this world.

He carefully sifted through the remnants of the prototype, casting aside the less valuable materials. The various shards of metallo could be reused. The wires and computer chips could be replaced. However, the core of the main interface could not be thrown away.

He called it the neuro-mechanical accelerator. It was no bigger than a guitar and shaped like a messy array of gears and wires. Lex managed to retrieve it from a mess of burned out wires. He had to wear special gloves to hold it. When he held it up to the light, it radiated with an ominous purple energy. The nature of this energy was the key to neutralizing Superman. He just needed to create a more effective platform for it.

“I already have the hardware. It’s the software that needs refinement,” said Lex. “The next prototype will be far more effective.”

“For your sake and mine, it had better be,” came a deep voice.

Lex didn’t bother turning around. He just grinned smugly while clinging to the device. The Daily Planet often claimed he would make a deal with the devil himself to further his agenda. Ironically, that wasn’t wholly inaccurate.

“Hello to you too, Mr. Arenas. Or do you prefer I call you Ares when you’re not pretending to be an overpaid consultant?” said Lex.

“Call me whatever you want, but you had best say it with respect because you’re not in a position to be coy.”

“You’re not in a position to complain about it, unless your overbearing father who pretends to be a god has somehow stopped caring about your activities,” retorted Lex.

“My father _is_ a god and so am I. And I still find your tendency to make light of that infuriating.”

“Sorry Ares, but I don’t believe in gods, demigods, or whatever else you prefer to call yourself. I’m a man of science. I believe only in powers that lesser minds cannot understand – if they care to understand it at all. Now I know you didn’t come for me for false worship so state your business. As you can see, I’m very busy.”

Lex continued working, taking the component to his work bench where he began analyzing it with his tools. Ares had to restrain himself as he emerged from the shadows near John Corben’s containment tank. He had encountered many annoying mortals in his time, but none like Lex Luthor. This man took narcissism to a level that surprised even the gods. He held in his hands components forged by Hephaestus using remnants of Zeus’s legendary Aegis, yet he wielded it as if it were a dirty hammer. Any other god would have struck him down for such disrespect. Unfortunately, he needed this man’s resources, genius, and ego to wage his war.

“Believe it or not, I come bearing good news,” said Ares. “While your latest attempt to integrate Olympian hardware with your mortal gadgets had _mixed_ results, it did show promise.”

“Don’t tell me what I already know, Ares. Either yell at me for not making a prototype capable of killing Superman or give me whatever qualifies as _good news_ for gods,” said Lex, who was now looking at the hardware through a special microscope.

“I cannot give the full details to a mortal, but I can say that Olympus has encountered a new _distraction_ of sorts.”

“What kind of distraction?” asked Lex with only mild curiosity.

“None you need concern yourself with,” answered Ares. “All you need to know is that someone who stands to benefit from our success has uncovered a few things that will keep Olympus frustrated.”

“Gods getting frustrated? How petty,” scoffed Lex.

“This is good for us because it now means we can afford to be bolder. Zeus must now concern himself with matters unrelated to my activities. It should allow me to obtain more materials that will accelerate our progress.”

“Good, because the materials you’ve given me so far will hardly suffice,” said Lex, still focusing on the component. “This material managed to break a few laws of physics and biology to make my prototype functional. I’ll need to break a few more to make the next one more efficient.”

“And you’ll have it,” said Ares. “Just make sure these _prototypes_ of yours are able to fully utilize the powers of the gods. They’ll clearly need to if they’re to stand a chance against this so-called Superman.”

Ares made it clear that he remained skeptical of Lex Luthor’s ability. This finally got Lex to look up from his workbench. Without a hint of fear, he walked up to Ares. No mortal had ever looked at the God of War in such a way, but this was no mere mortal.

“If you’re really that skeptical, then by all means…find someone capable of turning your _godly_ resources into functioning weapons,” said Lex sternly, “But let’s get something straight here, Ares. The man we’re both trying to neutralize _is_ a Superman. He _is_ a being of great power.”

“Careful Luthor. You almost sound like you’re defending him,” scoffed Ares.

“I’m merely stating facts to one who clearly is uncomfortable with the concept. This is exactly why I don’t believe in gods. They see everyone around them as insects. Some, like the Olympians, treat them like a child treats ants in an ant farm. Some, like Superman, treat them as pets to be tamed. But we’re neither of those. And if you think being a god sets you apart, you’re sadly mistaken.”

“This from a man who claims to be superior to all other mortals,” retorted Ares.

“Unlike you, I can prove my superiority. I can quantify my genius. And you need that genius more than I need your resources. We both want the same thing with respect to Superman, but we can only achieve that if we see him for what he is and not what we wish he were. Surely a god in their vast wisdom can understand that.”

Once again, Ares had to restrain himself. This mortal kept tempting his wrath. However, so long as he needed his resources, he had to put up with him. He was not wrong either, even though he would not allow himself to admit it. The destruction of this prototype was another impressive display of Superman’s power. That display was sure to have an effect on all those who heard of it, which made this war he sought all the more important.

“Right now, I understand that we have a window in which to operate,” said Ares. “We would both be wise to use it.”

“Then I think we’re done here,” said Lex as he went back to his workbench. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have work to do. Between the metallo armor I’ve salvaged and Mr. Corben’s condition, I have a few burning ideas for my next prototype.”

* * *

**London, England**

Diana had never been this far from home before. She had never been this alone either. She had really done it. She left her home, her sisters, and her mother. It was like ripping out a piece of her own heart and leaving it behind as she ventured into the unknown. But at no point did she dare look back. Diana had made her decision. Now lost, heartbroken, and confused, she had to find a new place in an unforgiving world.

At first, she just flew to get away. She flew for hours, heading north until she reached a chain of mountains. She ended up just landing on the summit so she could collect her thoughts and wipe whatever tears remained from her eyes. Diana found herself punching rocks in frustration and crying out in anger at what had just transpired. She was angry at the gods, her mother, her sisters, and herself. She dared question what it meant to be a warrior and it cost her everything. It felt right on some levels and wrong on others. It left her spirit so torn that she spent the rest of the day just dealing with her anguish.

When the sun finally set, Diana gathered herself enough to formulate a plan. There weren’t a whole lot of places she could go. Her knowledge of man’s world extended only to what Kal-El had told her and what she had read in magazines. At first, she thought about seeking out Kal-El. However, she dispensed that idea quickly. She was in no state to see him again. She wouldn’t want him to see her like this anyway, confused and angry at a world she didn’t understand. She didn’t need her already chaotic feelings getting any worse. She needed a place where she could step back, absorb this new world, and find her place within it.

To do this, she sought out the only woman on the planet who could help her. This was the same woman who helped her acquire the illicit artifacts that inspired her mother’s outrage. She warned her that if her mother found out, she would be in a great deal of trouble. She also told her that if she ever found herself lost in man’s world, she would aid her. So on the first day they met, she gave her a set of coordinates marked by certain stars that led her to a particular city. She then showed her pictures of a building where she could be found. Diana hoped to never have to take her up on this offer, but fate had once again trumped hope.

This led her to travel to the city called London, England. Flying over the city, she was amazed at what she saw. She had only seen pictures of the great cities of man’s world. But those pictures hardly did justice to seeing it first-hand.

_‘So this is what man’s world has created over the centuries. It’s beautiful…chaotic and disorganized, but beautiful. All these men and women, living together in such close quarters, yet able to function. Such grandeur alone shows that they’re capable of coexisting on some levels. But to what extent? Will I only end up proving my mother right? I cannot know for sure until I can explore man’s world.’_

After flying around the city, taking in various sights and sounds, Diana eventually located her destination. It was what man’s world called an apartment complex. Near as she could tell, this was a fairly typical dwelling for men and women alike in man’s world. She landed on the balcony on the top floor penthouse. She saw no lights within the dwelling. Diana couldn’t tell if anyone was inside so she opened the door and entered.

“Hello? Is anyone here? I’m in need of assistance,” she called out.

Diana got no response at first. She continued scanning the darkness for any noticeable presence. She took a few more steps into the dwelling. Then, she sensed a faint shadow from the moonlight pass over her. Less than a second later, she felt the distinct cold of an Amazonian sword against her throat.

“Who the hell dares enter my home?” said an imposing female voice.

“Someone who doesn’t intend to fight you,” answered Diana, having already recognizing the tone, “Although it is refreshing to see that you haven’t lost your Amazon abilities.”

The female figure turned on a nearby light, revealing that she attempted to attack wearing only a bathrobe. It would have been so fitting had she not gasped at the identity of the intruder.

“By the gods…Princess Diana?” she gasped.

“Calm yourself, Hessia. I am not worthy of that title anymore. I am just another sister,” said Diana.

“This is…unexpected. What are you doing here? Have those _illicit items_ I’ve been sending you finally caught up with me?”

“Actually, this isn’t about you. It’s about me. A lot has happened since we last spoke. Without going over all the painful details, I’ll just say that my mother and I no longer see eye-to-eye over what it means to be an Amazon. So I’ve exiled myself from Themyscira.”

“What do you mean you’ve _exiled_ yourself? What in Athena’s name happened?”

“More than I care to reveal at the moment,” sighed Diana. “Right now, I need sanctuary. I’m in a difficult predicament and I need help from a sister to get me through it.”

Hessia remained in a state of disbelief. She set aside her sword and embraced the princess, but not with her usual formality. If what she said was true, then something very serious had transpired. She had been uninvolved with Amazon affairs for a while now. It seemed things had become quite complicated.

Diana accepted her embrace. She needed the love of a sister right now and Hessia was probably the only one who could sympathize with her situation. For centuries, she had been a healer who specialized in treating the various wounds that Amazons incurred over the course of battle. As time went on, her passion for healing exceeded her passion for combat. She began negating her training in order to study the arts of medicine. Sometimes this involved conjuring illegal potions, which earned her plenty of discipline. It only got worse when she began importing illegal materials from man’s world to further her studies. Ten years ago she had been discovered. As a result, her mother and a tribunal exiled her.

She had been living in man’s world ever since. She had since forged a new identity and established herself as a field medic for the Red Cross. She was supposed to have ceased all contact with her sisters. However, Diana managed to get in touch with her when she began seeking similar illegal materials from man’s world. Hessia had been reluctant at first, but she could not say no to a sister, especially the princess. It felt good to embrace a fellow Amazon again. However, it appeared she had a lot of catching up to do.

“Say no more, sister. My home is at yours for as long as you need it,” said Hessia as they parted.

“Thank you. I apologize for intruding,” said Diana.

“Think nothing of it. I find it somewhat refreshing to employ my Amazon training again. But I have a lot of questions that’ll need answering if you what you say is true.”

“I fully intend to answer them all. It involves a man, an argument, and a whole web of lies that I managed to keep for four years. It got so bad that…”

Hessia held her hand up to stop Diana. She had never heard her get this worked up. She hadn’t heard any Amazon get this worked up outside of combat. Those answers she sought were clearly more complicated than she imagined.

“That’s okay, Diana. You don’t need to answer them right away,” she told her.

“But you need to know how bad it is,” said Diana as she began pacing. “I never planned to exile myself. I just couldn’t live under the Amazon Code anymore. Everything they say about man’s world and why we must isolate ourselves from it…I just couldn’t accept it anymore.”

“You wouldn’t be the first, but you would be among the few,” said Hessia.

“I tried to talk it out with my mother, but that only made things worse! She and every other Amazon refuse to even consider what I know in my heart to be true. I cannot live in that world anymore. I don’t even know if I can live in man’s world. For all I know, I’ve completely disrupted the balance between Olympus and Themyscira!”

At this point, Diana wasn’t even addressing Hessia. She was basically talking out loud, putting all her conflicting thoughts into words. It sounded even more complicated when she heard herself say it. She ended up hugging her shoulders as the feeling of what she had done continued to sink in.

Hessia did her best to console her sister. She remembered feeling the same way when she left her home. That isolation and uncertainty was the worst part of exile. That was why it was considered the worst punishment an Amazon could receive. However, it didn’t have to be that way. She managed to turn it into a new life and there was no reason why the princess couldn’t do the same.

“Don’t allow yourself to think like that, Diana. Trust me, it won’t make the first night of exile any easier,” Hessia told her.

“I suppose I’ll have to take your word for it. I’m just…not used to being this overwhelmed,” said Diana distantly. “I left my home. I’m in a world I don’t fully understand. I’m not even sure what sort of life I can live at this point.”

“Nobody is sure. That applies to Amazons and mortals alike,” she retorted with a touch of humor, “But that doesn’t mean we can’t figure it out.”

“I’m not even sure I’m ready to think that far ahead. Just seeing this city as I flew in was so breathtaking. I wouldn’t know where to begin.”

“We’ll figure that out too. It’s going to be easier than you think in some ways, but harder in others.”

“How can you be so sure?” asked Diana.

“Because I’m going to help you. Just sit down while I make us some tea. We clearly have a lot to discuss. I can’t promise I’ll make this less overwhelming, but I can promise you won’t be alone in dealing with it.”

It was the first bit of comfort that Diana had felt since she left Themyscira. It felt fitting in some respects, taking comfort in a sister that had been scorned by her fellow Amazons. It gave her hope that she could turn this despair and inner conflict into something greater. Her spirit may have been wounded, but her heart had already convinced her that this could be the start of something wonderful.

* * *

**Up next: Secret Connections**


	6. Secret Connections

**Strangers In Paradise**   
**Chapter 6: Secret Connections**

**AN: This chapter takes place one year later after the previous chapter.**

* * *

**South Sudan – Refugee Camp**

_“Father! Father, you’re alive!”_ cried a little girl with tears of joy.

_“My child! Oh thank heavens you’re okay!”_ cried a middle-aged man as he lovingly embraced the girl in his arms.

It was a beautiful sight in an otherwise bleak environment. Refugee camps were known for sorrow and despair, not hope and reunions. However, scenes like this happened more often than most would suspect and these moments of elation far outweighed the moments of sorrow.

Diana, the exiled princess of the Amazons, still marveled at such a sight. She didn’t understand the language they spoke, but she understood the emotions. That little girl thought she lost her father when a militia attacked her village. While her father had been wounded, he fought with every fiber of his being to see his family again. He was not a warrior or a fighter. He was just an ordinary man who deeply loved his wife and daughter. Moments like this filled Diana with such wonder because these were the acts of men that no Amazon ever heard about.

She had seen many similar acts over the past year. It had become a regular occurrence in her new occupation as an officer with the International Red Cross. Shortly after her fellow exile, Hessia, helped her establish a new home, she got her a job with this organization. It was an organization that provided indiscriminate, universal relief to human suffering, taking no sides taking no sides in any conflict and embracing all as equally worthy of dignity. It essentially practiced the values that the Amazons preached, but there was no hypocrisy in this effort. It provided Diana a place to exercise the values she knew to be right and, naturally, she thrived.

It didn’t take long for her to become an invaluable asset to the organization and the people it served. Her ability to fearlessly enter a battlefield and protect the innocent made her ideal for managing security personnel, overseeing the delivery of humanitarian aid, and conducting rescue operations. It was a role that Diana came to embrace and seeing moments like this made it rewarding.

Hessia didn’t ease her into this role either. A week after she signed up, she was in Southeast Asia aiding numerous villages that had been devastated by a typhoon. Her survival skills and durability, along with her burning desire to see more of man’s world, allowed her to thrive. Within the span of a year, Diana proved herself to be an asset, so much so that the International Red Cross promoted her. Now she specialized in delivering aid and conducting rescue operations in war zones. It seemed fitting that a woman trained all her life to fight wars could be so skilled at bringing peace to victims of war.

She watched with a beaming smile as this wounded man lovingly held his daughter. He had been trapped under a pile of rubble for nearly three days. He would have died if he had been trapped a day longer, but Diana managed to save him and get him treatment. Thanks to the healing skills of Hessia, he was reunited with his family. He was one of many that she had helped in her time with the Red Cross. Moments like this showed that man’s world had plenty of good worth saving.

“Another impossible job well done,” said Hessia as she walked up to Diana.

“It needed to be done,” said Diana proudly. “Too many families are needlessly lost in conflicts like this. Saving one reminds us why saving others is so vital.”

“I like to think the rest of our sisters would agree with that statement. I’m just not sure they would agree with the circumstances.”

“If only they could experience moments like this, they would see that such circumstances are meaningless,” said Diana.

The princess kept smiling proudly as the man’s wife and two older sons rushed out from a tent and embraced him. Other families, neighbors and friends from the village, joined in to share in the elation. These displaced people needed moments like this. Hessia had seen plenty, but she could tell that Diana took a special satisfaction in them.

It was a satisfaction that Hessia had taken for granted after 10 years of exile from her home. She joined the Red Cross as a way to exercise her healing talents. Her experience with less-than-conventional methods of treatment, born from forbidden Amazon healing practices, made her an accomplished field medic and physician. She had seen many innocents healed and many innocents die under her care. Diana brought a different skill set to the table that allowed even more innocents to be saved. Between her Amazonian skills and her uncanny ability to touch the hearts of others, she had endeared herself to many, although not always for the same reasons.

“Refresh my memory, but I believe we were told to stay out of the ruins of the villages,” said Hessia. “The African Union reported yesterday that there was still militia activity in the area.”

“Your remembered correctly, Hessia. But since when have you known me to run from danger?” said Diana curtly.

“Point taken,” conceded Hessia, “Although that does raise questions about another curious report that I received this morning. Apparently, two dozen militiamen were found dead or wounded just outside the village. One was so wounded that he claimed to see what he described as a ‘Warrior Goddess.’ You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?”

“Do you really want to know? Or would you rather just be grateful that a good man was saved and the evil men were punished?”

“I’ll just assume the man was delirious and save myself the trouble.”

Hessia shook her head in bemusement. It seemed so long ago that Diana had once been so lost and conflicted. She had no idea what she was going to do with herself. She didn’t even have an identity to call her own. Having gone through a similar transition herself, Hessia did what she could to help. But simple, pragmatic things like establishing a paper trail and giving her an official name, Diana Prince, was only a small part of the challenge.

Diana made it clear early on that if she was going to be exiled in man’s world, then she was going to learn about it. She was going to see for herself if it was as bad as her sisters has claimed or if it was as good as Kal-El had claimed. Initially, Hessia had been reluctant to get Diana involved in the Red Cross because it meant visiting places where men and women had been subject to horrible atrocities. But staying away from conflict just wasn’t Diana’s style, so Hessia gave her a chance and she made the most of it.

“Does it ever fully sink in?” asked Diana distantly.

“Does what sink in? The satisfaction of seeing a family reunited?” replied Hessia.

“No. That I already know will never cease to amaze me,” said Diana with a confident smile. “It’s the idea that my mother and sisters were so wrong about man’s world that still bothers me. Is it supposed to take this long to accept?”

“I hate to break it to you, but I’ve been in exile for a decade and I still struggle to accept it.”

“It doesn’t seem fair though. In the year that I’ve been working with the Red Cross, I’ve seen so many men carry out great acts of love and compassion. These men love their wives, sons, and daughters every bit as passionately as my mother loved me. I was taught to believe that men were incapable of such devotion.”

“And for many years, I believed that too. It’s just a lot harder now when I keep seeing moments like this,” admitted Hessia while continuing to admire the joyous scene with the man and his family.

“There are even times I don’t want to accept it. I try and focus on the horrible men who committed these atrocities. Most of the militia in this area and others like it are men…angry, hateful men,” said Diana, her tone changing as she recalled her numerous experiences over the past year, “But no matter how terrible these men are or how horrible their crimes, they’re always outnumbered by the men who aren’t filled with hate and malice.”

“Numbers, unfortunately, are not subject to flawed perceptions.”

“Neither is the greater sense of accomplishment I feel when I save a good man instead of punishing a bad man,” added Diana. “I expected to have many of my assumptions about man’s world tested when my exile began. I just never expected so many of them to be utterly _shattered_.”

Even as she embraced the feeling of having saved a man and his family, Diana still felt conflicted. She stepped back for a moment with Hessia and took in the rest of the refugee camp. In many ways, it symbolized the good that man’s world had fostered. It acted as indisputable proof that certain aspects of Amazon ideology were wrong.

From where she stood, Diana could see dozens of tents where other men, women, and children were being treated. Those administering the treatment included both men and women. These were not warriors. These were doctors, volunteers, and workers putting themselves in harm’s way for the sake of others they didn’t even know. Their acts of compassion were as great as any warrior, endearing them deeply to the victims. Some cried tears of sorrow at the losses they suffered. Some cried tears of joy when they were reunited with their loved ones. In nearly every case, the men and women cried together.

“You’ll probably never get used to it, but it does get easier. I promise,” assured Hessia.

“I hope you’re right. Sometimes I just wish I could just bring my mother and sisters here so she could see what I’ve seen, experience what I’ve experienced,” sighed Diana.

“I still doubt that would change their minds. Keep in mind, they’ve had these assumptions for a very long time,” Hessia pointed out.

“I know. They still see me as young, inexperienced, and foolish,” said the former princess bitterly.

“It’s not that simple, I’m afraid. Hippolyta and our sisters still see men in the context of their experiences with Hercules. The atrocities committed upon them – and upon me, as well – are not easily forgotten.”

“I never expected them to be. I know I never experienced such atrocities, but I’ve seen plenty in my time with the Red Cross to know that they can be overcome.”

“These scars run much deeper. I know because I still feel them myself,” said Hessia.

“But you seem to have overcome them, haven’t you?” said Diana.

“That’s just it, Diana. You never truly overcome it. You only learn to move past it. When I was first exiled, I didn’t learn as quickly as I hoped. But my passion for healing is greater than my passion for dogmatic tradition. In following those passions, I created new experiences that helped me move beyond the crimes committed against me. And I am grateful for those experiences in every way. I just don’t know if our sisters could ever bring themselves to follow similar passions.”

“Well I believe they can. I _want_ to believe they can,” said Diana strongly. “I just wish they would give mankind another chance.”

Even in exile, Diana’s heart remained as strong as ever. It was one of Diana’s defining traits that never failed to amaze Hessia. It was also part of what endeared her to nearly everyone she encountered. But at times, her youth and inexperience still showed.

“I know how you feel. There are times I wish the same thing, but meaningful change takes more than a wish,” said Hessia. “Changing the passions of others is a long, difficult process. Sometimes you have to accept that and focus on your own.”

“That’s exactly what I’ve been doing for the past year,” said Diana.

“And you’ve been doing it well. I hear that the headquarters in Geneva want you to be their spokesperson. But I get the sense that this won’t quell these passions you struggle with.”

“I don’t see my passions as a struggle. Gaining a larger role with the Red Cross can only help,” said Diana.

“I don’t deny that. However, I can tell that you seek something greater, Diana,” said Hessia more seriously. “Your heart makes you special, even among your fellow Amazons. And unlike many with such a heart, you have the strength and skills to do so much more.”

“How can I possibly do more than what I do now by helping these innocent people?”

“That, I can’t tell you. Your passions have helped fuel your desire to seek good in man’s world. Maybe it’s time you start letting them guide you.”

Hessia left Diana to contemplate those passions as she tended to more people in need. These were not issues that Diana usually dwelled on when there were refugees to aid. But when she saw the man she saved earlier embracing his wife so lovingly, her passions got the better of her.

She had seen similar sights many times before, but something about the way lovers embraced one another struck her. It wasn’t like she hadn’t embraced her sisters and mother throughout her life. This was a different kind of affection, one born of a powerful bond that strengthened them both. That man fought harder to survive because he loved his wife and family with such passion. Perhaps she could learn something from them. Man’s world was so much bigger than she ever could have imagined and there was only so much that she could do, even as a trained Amazon. Maybe her passions could guide her to a better way of making difference. Or maybe, at the very least, it could guide her to someone that would make her fight harder.

“Miss Diana! Miss Diana!” said an excited, youthful voice.

Diana was jolted from her daze by an little boy running up to her and tugging on her pant leg. He couldn’t have been older than five years old and had a smile on his face that could warm any heart.

“Calm down, little one. What has you this excited?” said Diana as she knelt down to greet the boy.

“The nice man on the truck just handed out some new clothes. And look what I got!” he said cheerfully with his limited English.

The boy then proudly showed her a clean blue shirt with a familiar symbol on the chest. It was a symbol Diana knew very well and one that the whole world had come to know as well. It was the distinct red S of Superman. She had seen it plenty of times over the past year in the news and on signs, but something about the way this little kid held the shirt put a smile on her face.

“It’s Superman! He’s the greatest ever! I want to be just like him and save the world from all the bad people,” said the boy boldly.

“With energy like that, you’re well on your way,” she told him.

Diana watched the little boy eagerly put on the shirt and stand proudly. For a moment, it took her back to that fateful encounter with the man behind the symbol five years ago. She hadn’t forgotten him or the influence he had on her. She had also watched with the rest of the world as he became a hero and an icon to all. It still filled her with so many powerful emotions, many of which she never got a chance to confront.

_‘You’ve become quite a man, Kal-El –_ _the power of a god with the heart of a mortal. You’re inspiring the world with your great deeds, just as you inspired me. I’ve kept myself from seeking you out, trying to deal with my own problems. But how much longer can I use that as an excuse? Do you still harbor those feelings we shared during our time together? Or is it too late?’_

* * *

**Metropolis –** **Daily Planet**

“Kent? Hey Kent! Are you daydreaming on me again?” said an irate Perry White.

“What? No uh…of course not, sir,” said Clark, playing his part as the clumsy reporter a bit too well.

“Then don’t make me repeat myself again! It’s bad enough Lois here won’t stop texting her boyfriend.”

“To be fair, I’m multi-tasking. I’m sort of in the middle of a big move and a huge step in my personal life here,” said Lois, who was sitting across the table from him.

“I don’t care if you’re in the middle of performing brain surgery. I need you to focus!” said Perry, slamming his fists on the desk to get everyone’s attention.

The mood in the conference room was more tense than usual. Perry was more uptight than usual and for once, it wasn’t because of declining subscriptions. He had just spent the last hour going over a new strategy to take on Lex Luthor again. Every other paper had apparently lost interest in his shady dealings. Usually, Clark would be giving Perry his full attention. Today, however, he found himself distracted by another story.

It had to do with Lois Lane and her current feats of multi-tasking. She had spent all morning on her phone, coordinating with her boyfriend of nearly a year, Jonathan Carroll. She had already announced to him and her fellow co-workers that she and Jonathan were taking the next step in their relationship. They were moving in together, having gone in on a new condo in one of the nicer parts of the city. Jonathan recently got promoted, which required him to move across town. It seemed like the perfect opportunity for them. Being his best friend, Clark wanted to be happy for them. That was somewhat difficult when he could see the messages they were sending one another with his X-ray vision.

_“Cable guy’s still running late. Might have to wait till tomorrow,”_ Jonathan said in one of his messages.

_“Too bad. Guess we’ll have to find another way to entertain ourselves,”_ Lois replied.

_“That’s okay. Got a few activities in mind already.”_

_“Are they clothing optional?”_

_“Mmmaybe.”_

Several winky faces followed. It wasn’t the first suggestive message he had sent this morning and it probably wouldn’t be the last. He kept scolding himself for using his powers like this, but it was difficult to ignore. However, the content of the messages weren’t what bothered Clark the most. It also didn’t help that Perry’s latest crusade against Lexcorp was more style than substance.

“Now I understand we’re not playing with a full deck here. Luthor has gotten much better at covering his ass since the Syria incident a year ago,” Perry went on. “He’s gotten so good at it that every other paper in Metropolis has given up on exposing the truth. We need to be the ones that keep pushing. We need to show that there is a story here that Luthor wants to suppress.”

“We all know there’s a story here, Mr. White. The problem is that Luthor’s lawyers won’t let us tell it,” said Jimmy Olsen, who just recently became a full-time photographer.

“The guy can only hide behind so many lawyers. We’ve got pictures, former employees, and leaked memos that Luthor is working on a new project, complete with funding from the United States military. That alone isn’t news. But when the name John Corben keeps coming up, that’s something we need to explore! The guy was listed as dead after Syria and nobody seems to care that people keep talking about him. We need to know why and we need to know if Superman is going to have to fight another death machine.”

“Doesn’t he do that often enough, Chief?” said Lois, sneaking another peak at her phone. “Not sure that even qualifies as news anymore.”

“Save the sass for your new roommate, Lane. I want you and everyone else with a lead to hammer this story. If Luthor’s lawyers get in the way, pretend they’re part of whatever death machine that Superman will end up smashing!” barked Perry.

Having made his intentions clear, Perry ended the meeting and returned to his office, slamming the door behind him to help reinforce his point. The rest of the staff got the message and packed up their notes. Clark intended to do the same. He needed to keep busy at a time like this.

“Don’t you just love it when Perry’s on the warpath?” joked Jimmy.

“Only when he’s not taking it out on us,” replied Clark.

“He has to take it out on someone. He’s probably still bitter that Luthor beat the charges from the Syria debacle a year ago.”

“Aren’t we all?” said Clark.

“Well he sure isn’t over it. Probably didn’t help that Luthor threatened to sue the Planet…again.”

“All the more reason to nail him this time. I have to say I’m also curious as to why John Corben is such a popular topic at Lexcorp again.”

“Maybe you should do a better job of showing it next time,” said Jimmy under his breath.

“What was that, Jimmy?” said Clark, even though he clearly heard him.

“Nothing! Nothing at all,” he said innocently. “Catch you in the funny pages, buddy.”

He gave Jimmy a chance to avoid an awkward conversation about his focus at the meeting. Thankfully, Jimmy took it. Clark wasn’t ready to talk about it just yet. He finished gathering his notes and prepared to head back to his desk. Then Lois stopped him at the door, waiting until everyone else had left beforehand.

“Hold it, Smallville. We need to talk,” she told him.

“Can it wait, Lois? I’d rather not test Perry’s patience today,” said Clark.

“He’s always impatient. And since this can’t wait, let’s deal with it now because I’ve got enough on my plate.”

She had that tone in her voice again. It was the same tone she had when pursuing a story. Nothing was going to stop her from confronting this issue. Both Perry and Jimmy noticed his demeanor over the course of the meeting. If they picked up on it, then he had no hope of hiding from the Planet’s best reporter.

“Since I know you’re too polite to just come out and say it, I’ll save you the trouble. Something’s bothering you and it has to do with me moving in with Jonathan. Hide it all you want behind those farm boy manners of yours, but I know it’s there so let’s talk about it.”

“I’d rather not, Lois. It’s your personal life. I thought I’ve made it clear that your personal life is none of my business,” said Clark as incredulously as possible.

“You say one thing, but act completely different,” scoffed Lois. “Come on, Clark. You might be too polite for your own good, but you’re my best friend. You know you can talk to me, right?”

“I know. And I thought we already had this uncomfortable conversation,” said Clark, now sounding even less convincing than before.

“We did, but I think this is about something else. Now unless you want me to start making crazy assumptions, you’ll spill. And you know as well as anybody how I am with crazy assumptions.”

It might have been a thinly veiled threat, but Clark didn’t doubt for a second that Lois could carry it out. She knew him too well. She also happened to be a great reporter so it was useless to play dumb. He might as well come clean. Keeping it in would only make things worse.

He couldn’t share all the details with her, but this was an issue that affected both Superman and Clark Kent. He decided a year ago that he couldn’t have emotional entanglements. It felt like the right thing to do at the time. Now, after a year of seeing Lois develop a relationship with another man, it triggered in him a different set of feelings that made him question how right that decision had been.

“It’s not as crazy as you think. You’re right. It has to do with you and Jonathan, but not for the reason you probably suspect,” said Clark with a sigh.

“Which reason? There can’t be just one,” said Lois with folded arms.

“That one that involves me admitting that I didn’t think you and Jonathan would get this serious,” answered Clark. “Don’t get the wrong idea. I know you two love each other. He’s been good for you in a lot of ways.”

“Still getting the wrong idea here,” said Lois.

“But at times, I’m not sure what he was to you. Was he someone you wanted to share your life with or someone you just hooked up with in between stories? I don’t know. I wouldn’t have judged you either way.”

“I still want to take offense to that, but I know judging isn’t your style so I’ll let it slide.”

“Now you’re getting really serious with this guy. You’re not just calling and texting each other to the point where it upsets Perry. You’re building a life together.”

“And that’s not a good thing?” questioned Lois. “These are the sorts of things adults do, Clark. These are the things that my father has been urging me to do since I turned 18.”

“It is a good thing. I’m happy for you, Lois. I really am. But seeing you move forward with your life reminds me how far behind I am.”

This caught Lois off-guard somewhat. She half-expected Clark to argue that she was moving too fast with Jonathan. Being an old-fashioned guy from the Midwest, she figured he was raised to think that a man and woman didn’t move in together until they got married and wanted to start churning out babies. Instead, Clark allowed himself to be somewhat selfish for once. This wasn’t about the status of her current life plans. This was about his status, or lack thereof.

“Wait…back up,” said Lois. “Is _that_ what this is about? Is good, humble Clark Kent now uncomfortable being single and ready to mingle?”

“Please don’t make light of it, Lois. It’s not like that,” said Clark, maintaining a serious.

“I’m not making light of it. I just…”

Lois’ words trailed off. She was still somewhat struck by the nature of Clark’s concerns. She stopped herself from saying anything else that would make her seem even more insensitive and let Clark finish his thought.

“I know I’ve made excuses since we started working together,” he went on. “I’ve been all about work, finding the truth and getting the story. You were the same way. I didn’t think there was time to develop a meaningful personal life. Now you’ve just proven that not only is it possible, it’s fulfilling. Having a personal life doesn’t have to affect your work. If fact, it has done wonders for your demeanor.”

“I want to say thanks, but I’m pretty sure that’s the definition of a backhanded compliment,” said Lois in bemusement.

“You know what I mean, Lois,” said Clark, still as serious as before. “I don’t like that I’m bothered by your happiness. But the idea of watching you and the rest of my friends move forward with their lives while I keep staying busy as an excuse – that doesn’t sit well with me. And I don’t know how to deal with it.”

It was probably the most vulnerable he had ever made himself in front of Lois Lane and that included the many conflicts they often got caught up in. These weren’t just the insecurities of Clark Kent. They affected Superman as well. He might be an alien, but he was still very human. He could not just bury himself in work all the time. He needed a life that kept him grounded. Lois Lane, whose charisma and bravery might as well qualify as superpowers, found a way. Why couldn’t he?

In his vulnerable state, Lois offered a sincere smile. Clark Kent was such an honest and decent man that it was hard to forget sometimes that he still had issues. Unlike her, he didn’t really have a family to lean on. His parents were dead. He had no siblings or relatives. She didn’t necessarily get along with her family, but at least they were there. And now that she had Jonathan in her life, she had so many things going for her. Clark deserved those things too. He just needed the right nudge.

“Clark, I’m going to let you in on a little secret – one that, if you were to tell _anyone_ , I would gut you in your sleep,” said Lois, still sincere despite her menacing words.

“You don’t need to threaten me, Lois. Keeping secrets is part of what makes me a good reporter,” assured Clark.

“Still, I’ll keep a few details to myself,” she said, now sounding more serious. “Remember back in Syria when I first got with Jonathan?”

“Of course. Awkward moments like that aren’t easy to forget.”

“I was actually referring to something that happened before that. You see, before I met Jonathan, there was someone else I had my eye on…someone I thought I had a connection with. I won’t tell you his name, but believe me when I say he was as good a man as any woman could ask for.”

She kept her words vague, making it impossible for Clark to determine if she was referring to him or Superman. He had shared a number of emotional moments with Lois as both men. For a time, he even contemplated revealing to her that these men were one in the same. He was tempted to probe deeper, but decided he might be better off not knowing.

“I want to say it was serious. I honestly don’t know if it ever was,” she went on, “But if he had come to me just after I got together with Jonathan and told me that I was making a mistake, I would have listened.”

“You mean you wouldn’t be with him now?” said Clark.

“I don’t know about that, but I definitely wouldn’t be this far along with him. I know I give the impression that I’m completely confident in every move I make, but believe it or not – I do feel vulnerable sometimes. And I don’t think I was ever that vulnerable, except for maybe the time I got caught in the Superman/Titano fight.”

It was surprising insight from someone who always seemed to have her act together. Lois was already the most amazing person Clark had ever met. She was so bold and charismatic, never showing weakness or fear in anything she did. The concept of her admitting her fear to him in such a personal way was nothing short of astonishing. At the same time, it revealed something unsettling.

Clark now found himself thinking back to the moment he made that decision with Lois as Superman. If what Lois said was true, then making a different decision might mean he wouldn’t have been in his current state. He and Lois might actually be together. Or maybe she just might be taking things slower with Jonathan. Or maybe it wouldn’t have worked out and things would be even more awkward between them. There were so many possibilities, but there was no undoing that decision. He had to deal with the current situation and so did Lois.

“Whoever this man was, I’m sure he had his reasons for not speaking up,” commented Clark.

“I don’t doubt that for a second I still don’t think they were good reasons, but that’s not the point,” said Lois. “My point is that I didn’t let my vulnerability keep me from connecting with someone. I took a chance on Jonathan Carroll and it paid off in way I never could’ve imagined.”

“And like I said, I’m happy for you, Lois.”

“But this isn’t about me, Clark. It’s about _you_. You carry yourself as this quiet, humble farm boy who is friendly to everybody, but I know there’s something else you don’t hide yet never acknowledge.”

“What do you mean?” asked Clark somewhat nervously.

“It’s pretty damn obvious. You don’t _want_ to be vulnerable. You actually go out of your way to avoid getting too close to anyone,” she said strongly. “It’s not overt, but it’s not very subtle either. I doubt I’m the only one that’s noticed. I just don’t think you’ve noticed. Well guess what? You can’t have a meaningful personal life without being vulnerable. You have to be willing to get hurt. You also have to be willing to see others get hurt, but that’s where you have to trust that they care enough about you to deal with it.”

It came off as somewhat harsh, but it needed to be harsh. Lois knew Clark well enough to understand that he needed to be shoved where others just needed to be pushed. He might be a good, honest man, but he was also incredibly dense. Nobody else was going to tell him this and he needed to hear it from someone he trusted.

“Now I’m not going to make assumptions about why you’ve got this pathological aversion to vulnerability. Maybe it’s because you lost your parents. Or maybe you were involved with someone else in the past and it burned you in ways you don’t want to experience again. I don’t want to make light of either. I just want you to know that I care enough not to want my happiness to fuel your misery.”

“I know you care, Lois. I’ve never doubted that,” said Clark.

“Then don’t doubt me when I say you deserve better. You’re too great a guy to stay this isolated,” said Lois, now sounding sincere again. “I really want you to be happy, but at some point you’re going to have to make yourself vulnerable again. Take it from me – you can’t expect the world to accommodate you. Sometimes you have to take a chance. It won’t always pay off, but the risk is worth the reward.”

Lois Lane had never been one for pep talks. She was always very blunt with her opinions, sometimes brutally. The fact that she was willing to be this thoughtful with him further proved that she really did care. She really wanted him to be happy. And everything she said applied just as much to Superman as it did Clark Kent.

She might not be aware of his struggles as Superman, but Lois still understood his vulnerabilities. She probably understood them better than he did at this point. Her comment about being involved with someone in the past really resonated because it reminded him of his encounter with Princess Diana on Themyscira. His life as Clark and Superman really changed after that experience. It factored heavily into his decision to avoid emotional entanglements. He didn’t think Superman should be vulnerable. But if it was causing him to be isolated from others, including the people he cared about, then that carried a much greater risk than any emotional entanglement.

Knowing he wouldn’t get many of these pep talks from Lois, Clark promised himself that he would heed her advice. He didn’t know how he was going to do it, but it felt like the right thing to do for him and for Superman.

“Now I feel even worse about being bothered by your relationship, Lois – but in a good way,” said Clark. “Thanks for giving me some badly needed perspective.”

“It’s what I do. That’s why I’m a damn good reporter,” teased Lois.

“You mean in addition to being incredibly driven and overly brave,” he replied with a humored grin.

“Don’t push it, Smallville.”

They shared a good laugh and exited the meeting room. Lois had given him a lot to think about. He couldn’t be an effective Superman - or an effective Clark Kent, for that matter - if he remained in his current state. He needed to start making some changes. He wasn’t sure what those changes would entail, but at least he now had a better understanding of the issue.

“Since your mood is improving, I need you do me a big favor,” said Lois.

“Always the opportunist, aren’t you?” quipped Clark.

“Relax, it doesn’t involve sitting in on one of Cat’s gossip panels again. There’s this side-story I’ve been working on for the last few weeks. It involves reports of some ‘Warrior Goddess’ causing a stir in disaster areas and war zones.”

“What kind of a stir?” asked Clark curiously.

“The kind that involves victims being rescued by some super-powered woman and bandits being badly injured by a similar woman. I think it’s some new metahuman, like that guy in Central City. Perry thinks it’s a fluff piece. Since he wants me to take point on the Lexcorp story, why don’t you look into it? It’ll probably be way less frustrating.”

Lois reached into her stack of files and retrieved the papers associated with the story. She practically shoved it into Clark’s hands before making her way back to her desk. She didn’t even wait for him to accept it, assuming he was nice enough to do this for her. She had work to do regarding Lex Luthor and Jonathan started texting her again so she didn’t have time to go over the details with him.

As concerned as Clark was about Lex Luthor’s activities, this story did intrigue him. Like nearly all her incomplete stories, it was horribly disorganized. It contained part of a draft with no fewer than five spelling errors and several reports from diverse regions, mostly from the Red Cross. One report in particular contained a drawing that one of the locals had made of the so-called “Warrior Goddess.” It was crude, but it depicted a strong, beautiful woman in exotic armor. It was hard to make much of the drawing, but something about this woman seemed familiar.

_‘A Warrior Goddess, they say? One with strength and power similar to Superman? I wonder…’_

* * *

**Metropolis –** **Secret Lexcorp Research Facility**

“Rest while you can, Sergeant Corben. Your next mission is about to begin,” announced Lex Luthor.

Every great scientific endeavor included instances of trial and error. The difference between geniuses and fools was the ability to improve with each trial. Lex Luthor had made progress in his ongoing endeavor to match Superman, but it was not as much as he hoped and there had been more than a few errors along the way. However, he made ensured there was sufficient improvement with each attempt. Now he had finally progressed to a point where the end result was in sight.

Once again, Sergeant John Corben would play a vital role. Officially, he had been declared dead after the injuries he suffered during the Syria incident a year ago. The damage done by the chemical weapons and the effects of the crude prototype interface made any recovery for this disgraced soldier more trouble than it was worth. In the end, it proved to be a blessing in disguise. Having John Corben on his staff created plenty of headaches. Him being officially dead meant he no longer had to deal with his former commanding officers bothering him. Some in the military still wanted him to stand trial for alleged crimes he committed overseas. Lex could care less about military justice. This man proved far more useful as a corpse than a soldier.

Now the containment chamber that once housed Sergeant Corben’s wounded body became a womb of sorts, one that would give birth to new kind of prototype. Most of his flesh had been replaced with metal, his muscles with circuits and his limbs with advanced cybernetics. It had been a painstaking process that took months of development, incorporating the many lessons he learned from previous encounters with Superman. In a sense, John Corben really was dead. There wasn’t much left of the body, but all the important parts of his brain and his mind had been preserved. Even without his flesh, he was still a man - one capable of defeating Superman.

“Advanced biomechanical integration…check. System wide neuropathic connections…check. Cybernetic reflex and control apparatus…check. Polymorphic base program…check. Full metallo shell and proportional strength augmentation…double check,” said Lex, reading over his checklist one last time. “That leaves just one ingredient.”

He set aside his tablet computer and retrieved a lead-lined container from a safe built right into the wall. When he opened it, the distinct green glow of kryptonite filled the room. It wasn’t enough to ensure that this secret lab was 50 feet underground and retrofitted from an old utility hub. He had to make sure Superman couldn’t use his X-ray vision to spy on his activities. Since his arrival, he had set up numerous labs like this all over the world. This one was especially dedicated to making John Corben the soldier he needed him to be.

“Be sure to incorporate this into your log, Sergeant Corben. You’ll need to know this before your mission begins,” said Lex as he set the glowing rock down on the table. “In the first prototype, kryptonite proved to be an effective power source. I spent a good chunk of the past year refining and shrinking the systems necessary to extract that power. Now the unit is small enough to fit comfortably in your chest. This means a chunk of kryptonite the size of a cantaloupe will power your systems longer than any human heart ever could.”

He doubted Sergeant Corben could appreciate the genius it took to turn kryptonite into a power source. The man was a soldier and a fighter who cared little for how his weapons worked, provided they delivered the right impact. But Lex remained confident that even a dishonorably discharged soldier like him would be satisfied with punch delivered by this system.

“You’re going to need that power. Superman proved in your first encounter that he’s not all muscle. He knows how to fight like a man, even if he isn’t one. Weakening him with the kryptonite won’t do the job. You’ll need to fight him like any soldier would fight an enemy. And with the help of Project Metallo, you’ll be able to match him move-for-move.”

If John Corben were conscious, he would already be foaming at the mouth in anticipation - at least in a metaphorical sense. One of the reasons Lex chose Corben for this program was because he blamed Superman for his dishonorable discharge. It may have been petty, but it ensured he would be motivated for when the time came.

That time would come very soon. It had to because Lexcorp had been under additional scrutiny lately. His company still hadn’t recovered from the effects of the first prototype failure and apparently someone started a rumor that John Corben was still alive. He had to make sure that whoever began that rumor was severely punished, but only after he turned it into an opportunity. He already had a perfect plan laid out.

As he prepared the kryptonite for installation, he felt a familiar gust of cold air blow through his lab. He didn’t bother looking up. He already knew who it was and why they were here.

“You’re early for once,” said Lex. “I trust all is well in the affairs of gods and myth.”

“You make too many assumptions about godly affairs, Luthor. But I’m willing to overlook that arrogance if this new toy of yours delivers what the other one couldn’t,” said Ares as he emerged from a dark mist in the center of the lab.

“If by deliver you mean make better use of the ‘divine hardware’ you supplied, then you need not worry. I promise not to taint your precious assets with mortal incompetence,” replied Luthor.

“Believe it or not, I’m less concerned about your use of forbidden machinery and more about our timetables.”

“And here I was thinking that immortals had all the time in the world,” scoffed Luthor.

“Even gods are subject to circumstance and opportunity,” said Ares. “The effects of Superman’s activities are becoming more pronounced. He’s making the world of man and god more vulnerable than they’ve ever been before. If he cannot be controlled soon, the damage will be irreversible.”

“On this, we’re certainly on the same page - even if it is a different book.”

“As such, I’ve acquired another tool that will ensure Superman’s defeat. Think of it as an accessory.”

Ares approached Luthor’s work bench where he had been preparing the kryptonite and placed a large, specially crafted dagger in front of him. It had a decorated handle, a highly polished blade, and a series of intricate carvings that formed various Greco-Roman symbols. In addition, it had a sizable purple gem installed in the base of the handle, which radiated slightly after Ares let go of it. To merely call it an accessory would have been an insult to the effort required to obtain this small relic. This mortal didn’t need to know the details so long as it aided their goal.

“What am I looking that and why should I care?” said Lex, unimpressed by what he saw.

“Something that exploits Superman’s other great weakness,” answered Ares. “You said it yourself. Kryptonite alone is not enough to defeat him. You’ve also observed that he is vulnerable to magic and every weapon forged by Hephaestus is imbued with tremendous mystical properties.”

“Somehow I doubt that’s all it’s imbued with,” said Luthor.

“Does it really matter? How confident are you in Mr. Corben’s competence?”

“As confident as I can be in any man who has more failures than victories under his belt. I’ll still want to analyze it thoroughly.”

“You are more than welcome to try. All you need to know is that it’ll work,” said Ares confidently. “I cannot stress enough the importance of ensuring Superman’s defeat. We’ve no room for error this time. Superman is becoming more and more powerful with each passing day. We need to stop him before he’s too strong to subdue.”

The God of War almost sounded anxious. Something else must be unfolding on Olympus that he was concealing. Lex did his best not to scoff. Since he began working with Ares, he knew he had an agenda of sorts. He made sure he never divulged the details, but Lex didn’t need to know those details to surmise what it entailed. Ares might have had a presence that evoked dread from the armies of the past, but he was not immune to the pettiness of all gods.

“You need not worry. I know how much gods hate competition,” taunted Lex as he picked up the dagger.

“Spare me your conniving attitude, Luthor. Just make sure your new prototype has this dagger when he confronts Superman. That way you’ll ensure vindication for that precious ego of yours.”

“Do you really think I want to defeat Superman out of pure ego?” scoffed Lex.

“I’m a god, Lex. I know a thing or two about ego and how it affects mortals like you.”

“Then I’ll spare you the indignation of proving you wrong and assure you that Sergeant Corben will have this dagger on his person,” said Lex. “I’ve already made the proper arrangements to draw Superman out. I think I can find a way to use this appropriately.”

“See that you do,” said Ares.

The imposing god left, triggering another cold gust of wind throughout his lab. As soon as he was gone, the gem on the dagger glowed again. Lex sensed an exotic form of energy radiating from within. It wasn’t as intense or potent as the kryptonite, but he got the sense that it wasn’t intended to be. There had to be some other purpose for this dagger. He already had his theories, but he would only know for certain once he put them to the test.

Setting the dagger aside, he finished configuring the kryptonite core for Sergeant Corben. He retrieved some of the wires attached to his robotic body and hooked them into the glowing green rock. After running a few tests and taking a few measurements, he verified that it was functioning properly and installed it into the special cavity in Corben’s chest. Once in place, the systems on his body came to life, not unlike a child drawing its first breath.

“Kryptonite core secure,” said Luthor, now speaking into a nearby computer. “All systems are now online. Activate Project Metallo.”

The servers initiated the flow of data, activating the systems controlling Sergeant Corben’s higher functions. As they came online, his robotic eyes lit up in an ominous green glow, identical to that of the kryptonite. His limbs started moving and he began looking around, taking in his surroundings. He moved less like a robot and more like a man, no doubt a product of the hardware Ares had provided coupled with Lex Luthor’s genius. It was a perfect melding of man and machine, albeit fueled by something that would make him more powerful than either.

As Sergeant Corben looked down at his hands and took in his surroundings, the wires connected to his body detached, allowing him to step down from the containment tank. When he saw Lex Luthor, a stream of code flashed in front of his eyes. The higher functions of his human mind now mixed with the rigid functions of a computer.

“How do you feel, Sergeant Corben?” Lex asked him.

“I’m no longer wounded or in debilitating pain, but I’m still immensely pissed off,” he replied, sounding more human than machine.

“That’s good because I made sure your personality, influences, and motivations were salvaged from what was left of your body…a body that Superman helped destroy.”

“Yes. I remember. Superman is the reason I must live like this now.”

“Then are you ready to begin your mission, Sergeant Corben? Are you ready to exact the revenge you so desperately crave.”

More code flashed before his eyes. The mission Lex mentioned had already been programmed into his systems. But he didn’t need that code to remind him of the importance of this mission. It wasn’t just a program it was personal. As the details kept streaming along, the name John Corben flashed briefly. It then faded and was replaced with a new identifying marker.

“I’m ready, Mr. Luthor. But please…don’t call me Sergeant Corben anymore. That man could not get the job done. From this point forward, call me Metallo!”

* * *

**Downtown Metropolis Parking Garage**

Storm clouds had rolled in for the afternoon. The Metropolis skyline was now covered in a thick overcast of clouds as a steady rain began to fall. For most people, this usually meant bad traffic and wet clothes. For Lois Lane, it was the perfect weather for following a lead.

Shortly after Perry decided that the Daily Planet should get back on the anti-Luthor bandwagon, Lois went to work on the story. He trusted her to probe deeper than most reporters ever dared. For years, Luthor had most of the press in his back pocket, so much so that he had gotten away with some pretty severe crimes that would have had anyone else behind bars years ago. The Daily Planet tried to change that and Lois was among the first to expose the elaborate cult of personality that Lex Luthor had created for himself. While that often meant getting into the kind of trouble that required a rescue by Superman, she never shied away from danger and this was one of those instances where danger was to be expected.

“I’ve got a bad feeling about this, which must mean I’m on the right track,” Lois said to herself as she looked at her rear-view mirror in her car.

Lois had been waiting in her parked car for the past twenty minutes now. After making a few phone calls to some of her various Lexcorp connections, she apparently got very lucky. A source of a source claimed to have information on the John Corben rumors. It was a significant stroke of luck. Usually whenever Lois got lucky with a story, it meant she was either walking into a trap or something had already gone horribly wrong. Whatever the case, it usually made for a bigger story so when the source asked to meet her in the parking garage of one of the many office buildings in downtown Metropolis, she couldn’t leave the office fast enough.

As she navigated the dreary weather, Lois began putting the story together in her head. With Lex Luthor, the return of Sergeant Corben could mean any number of horrors. This man, whose name had become synonymous with Lexcorp scandals, should have been dead. Perry even had a copy of his death certificate on display at the office, which had been part of a Lexcorp press release earlier that week. Neither she nor Perry believed for a second that these were meaningless rumors. Lex Luthor was too much of a control freak to allow meaningless rumors.

For the moment, she didn’t have enough facts to turn these rumors into a story. Assuming Luthor was already several steps ahead of them, Lois ignored the obvious signs of danger often associated with a lead like this. However, such danger still didn’t stop her from exchanging text messages with Jonathan.

_‘He knows I get into all kinds of trouble in my line of work. I know his line of work involved putting on a bulletproof vest and following soldiers onto the battlefield. Yet here were are, trying to build a life together when there are Lex Luthor’s out there keeping us in danger. That sounds so crazy when I think about it, but it feels so right.’_

He was still sending various updates about his effort to unpack their stuff in their new condo. He described the current state of their love nest something akin to the war zones he visited in South America. But all the pictures he sent her showed how it was coming together. Over the course of the day, she saw that life they were building take an exciting new form. This was uncharted territory for both of them, living together and sharing their lives. A year ago, she never could have imagined taking this step with anybody. Now, in the midst of another dangerous story involving Lex Luthor, it gave her a new perspective on how far she had come.

_‘I guess Clark wasn’t the only one in need of more perspective. I’m really doing this. I’m taking this big step in my life while still doing my job. I didn’t think that was even possible a year ago. Then again, a year ago I was dealing with much less certainty in terms of my emotions.’_

Jonathan had just sent her another goofy yet cute text, saying he loved her and he couldn’t wait to pop open an overpriced bottle of wine with her in celebration. He never once pestered her about what she was doing or whether she was safe. He actually trusted her to be strong enough to do her job and make it home safe. Thinking back to what she had told Clark, she realized just how far she had come with Jonathan.

_‘You’ve really done it, Jonathan Carroll. You made me fall head-over-heels in love with you. You did it when I was still crushing on a guy whose many powers included keeping me at arm’s length. You were willing to take a chance, swallow your pride, and trust me in a way that even Superman couldn’t trust me. That alone makes you special. If only Clark could find someone like that. He deserves someone special.’_

There were a lot of things about Clark Kent’s situation that she didn’t understand. Like Superman, he never let anyone get too close. She couldn’t begin to speculate on his reasons, but she assumed they were deeply personal and none of her business. Reading over Jonathan’s texts, she recalled all the risks they were taking by getting this close. These risks had led to so many rewards. Clark just hadn’t gotten around to taking the risks yet.

She kept going over more text messages from Jonathan until she finally got the call she had been waiting for. The caller ID said it was an unknown number, which was to be expected with all things involving Lex Luthor. Setting aside her concern for Clark Kent’s personal affairs, she shifted her focus back to the story and answered the call.

“I’m here,” she said.

_“So am I. I’m waiting for you behind the pillar near the utility access on the third level,”_ replied an oddly mechanical voice.

The caller immediately hung up, not allowing Lois to ask any questions. This source was overly careful, disguising their voice with some kind of scrambler. It was another sign that she was onto something, but it also added to that bad feeling that had been growing since the moment she arrived.

“What are you up to this time, Luthor? And how long is it going to keep me from enjoying that wine with my boyfriend?” she wondered aloud.

Donning a baseball cap and sunglasses, Lois exited her car and made her way up to the third level. This level was actually closed off to other vehicles because parts of it were still under construction, making it a good place to meet without anyone eavesdropping. It also meant that calling for help would be more difficult, but she had to take that risk whenever it involved Lex Luthor.

After ascending a nearby staircase, she located the pillar near the utility access. She could already see somebody casually leaning against it, wearing a construction helmet and heavy jacket. It also looked like he was smoking a cigarette or something. He could have easily been mistaken for a member of the construction crew. On the surface, he didn’t look threatening, but Lois had learned from experience to never assume too much.

“Don’t take another step,” he said when she was about 15 feet away from him. “You’ll want to keep your distance for the time being.”

“I know the drill. I also know when someone is taking the Deep Throat act way too seriously,” commented Lois.

“I apologize, but I’m in somewhat of a bind at the moment. Luthor has me caught up in this ambitious plan of his and I’m pretty sure he’s been keeping tabs on me ever since.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if the man keeps tabs on his janitors. Just how ambitious is this plan and how can we make it blow up in his face?”

“You’re surprisingly bold, Ms. Lane. I feel you’re skipping a few important steps if you’re that eager to make Luthor look foolish.”

“I’m patient about a lot of things, but not when it comes to Lex Luthor,” said Lois. “We can’t afford to go step-by-step. We need to get all the dirty details out in the open before Mr. I-Own-Everything-In-Metropolis can censor them.”

The man behind the pillar fell silent for a moment. He appeared to take another puff of his cigarette. Lois couldn’t tell if he was willing to start divulging information or if he was planning to back out of this entirely. It wouldn’t be the first time one of her sources got cold feet. Lex Luthor had a way of intimidating anyone who dared to share his secrets. That made getting a story to the public more important because it meant Luthor couldn’t operate in the shadows.

“I suppose you’re right,” said the man, his tone shifting somewhat. “If you’re to expose this story, we must act fast. You came here because you wanted information about Sergeant John Corben, a man who is listed as dead yet is still on Luthor’s payroll.”

“That’s one of the reasons, but I have a feeling it doesn’t stop with Corben,” said Lois.

“You’re as intuitive as they say, Ms. Lane,” he replied, his voice shifting again, “Because the truth is that Sergeant Corben is just the tip of the iceberg.”

“That tip is already pretty big. Why is it that Luthor has this man at the center of his anti-Superman agenda?” asked Lois.

“That’s the beauty of his plan. Luthor knew how much he hated Superman after he got discharged. He nourished Corben’s hatred as only he can, making sure he was plenty motivated to take him down. Now, even in death, he’s turned him into something he believes will best Superman.”

“Spare me the teasers and get right to the big picture. What has he become and what can you give me that Luthor’s lawyers can’t label as hearsay?”

The man paused again, still puffing away at his cigarette. Lois was tempted to take a step closer, but she couldn’t have this source running out on her. If what he said was accurate, then she needed to dig deeper. This could be the story that could bring down Lex Luthor once and for all.

After about a minute or so, the man casually flicked his spent cigarette towards her so that it landed right near her feet. He then stepped out slightly, revealing that he had considerable size and build. The shadow of the pillar still obstructed his appearance, but Lois could already sense some abnormalities with this man.

“If you’re that determined to play this game, then I’ll do you one better, Ms. Lane. I’ll show you something that’s sure to make the front page,” he said, his voice now sounding strangely modulated.

“How are you going to do that? And what’s wrong with your voice?” asked Lois.

“You’re about to find out.”

That bad feeling she had when she first arrived now turned into a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. It was the feeling she got when she knew something was about to go horribly wrong. She already had her hands on the special taser weapon she always kept in her purse. She finally took a step closer to get a better look at the man. He was still obscured by a long trench coat, a hat, and a pair of sunglasses. Then, he removed the sunglasses to reveal a pair of glowing green eyes.

“What the hell?!” gasped Lois.

“Here’s another shocking headline to report - I don’t smoke,” said the man with a devious undertone.

At that moment, Lois heard a sharp hissing noise. She traced it to the discarded cigarette butt that had landed near her feet. However, she quickly realized that it was not a cigarette because it was now spewing out a mist of greenish gas. As soon as she took a whiff of that gas, her vision blurred and she became disoriented.

“Ugh! Knock-out, gas!” coughed Lois, now covering her mouth.

“Don’t make this any harder than it needs to be, Ms. Lane. I can’t have you getting too roughed up just yet,” said the man.

Lois stumbled back from the cloudy mist, but the damage had been done. Her vision continued to blur and she struggled to keep her balance. As she attempted to remain conscious, she noticed the man now walking towards her. She instinctively took out her taser gun and aimed it at him while she was still coherent.

“Stay…the hell…away from me!” Lois demanded through labored breaths.

She didn’t bother giving the man a chance to listen. She just fired the taser gun, refusing to go down without a fight. But the two needles never got a chance to connect. Demonstrating inhuman reflexes, the man caught both needles before they could even touch him. In doing so, he also revealed his true form.

As he stepped out of the shadows, he revealed that he was not a man. He was a machine with the stature of a man. He shed his coat and attire, revealing his imposing form. The glowing green light in his eyes intensified as he came closer. Lois tried to turn and run, but by then it was too late. The gas had taken effect and her legs collapsed from under her. Now prone and barely conscious, the man/machine grabbed her by the throat and effortlessly lifted her into the air.

“Since using tasers against me is so pathetic, I’ll let that slide,” he said. “Besides, I need you alive and unhurt. Someone to report the biggest story of all time - the death of Superman at the hands of Metallo!”

* * *

**Ataturk International Airport - Turkey**

Diana left Sudan with a profound sense of accomplishment that had become common since she began working for the International Red Cross. Once the rescue operations had been completed and the treatment centers established, Diana and Hessia left the more basic operations in the hands of capable volunteers. She had already gotten a call from the main headquarters of the International Red Cross in Switzerland. They praised her once again for her ability to coordinate miraculous rescues wherever she went. They began listing all the promotional opportunities they were prepared to offer. It all sounded so exciting because it meant she could help more people. However, her excitement remained tempered in light of other conflicted feelings.

These feelings kept her quiet for most of the flight out of Sudan and into Turkey. Now she, Hessia, and a number of Red Cross officials were awaiting their transfer flight back to London where she was expected to meet with some of the top figures in the organization. But as she sat at the airport bar with Hessia, this meeting was the furthest thing from her mind.

“You’ve been unusually quiet for the past seven hours, Diana. I didn’t even hear you complain when they announced that our flight was delayed,” said Hessia, who easily picked up on Diana’s conflicted state.

“You’re more used to these delays than I am, Hessia. Prolonged silence shouldn’t be _that_ uncomfortable,” answered Diana.

“It is when I know there’s something on your mind. It makes me even more uncomfortable when you try to hide it.”

Diana should have known better than to conceal her inner struggles from a fellow Amazon. She hadn’t exactly done a good job concealing her struggles. She tried distracting herself by reading a magazine she had picked up after they landed. That only made it more obvious because one of the articles included a picture of Superman.

Hessia didn’t claim to understand all the feelings that Diana had struggled with since her exile. She often avoided discussing it because she could tell that Diana herself wasn’t sure what to make of it. However, she did notice a few common themes that always seemed to come up.

“You’ve been thinking about it again, haven’t you?” said Hessia knowingly.

“About what?” asked Diana, not taking her eyes off the article.

“Don’t pretend you’re not thinking about it this very second. You’ve been looking at that same picture of Superman for the past five minutes now. I do not need a magic lasso to know that you want to seek him out.”

“Of course I _want_ to see him again, Hessia. That much I’ve never denied,” conceded Diana. “I’m just not sure if I _should_.”

“And exactly how many times have you debated that issue with yourself over the past year?”

“More times than I care to keep track of,” sighed Diana.

“Then don’t you think that’s a sign you’re asking the wrong questions?”

Diana finally put the magazine down, but kept it open to the page with Superman’s picture. The article was fairly typical of most articles concerning Superman. It expressed hope, joy, fear, and uncertainty about what his presence meant for the world. He was the first being of great power to become a truly global icon. More and more of these “superheroes” as they were called had been following his example, fighting larger battles and having a greater impact. That often made her wonder about her own role in man’s world and whether this role even had room for these powerful feelings of hers.

“Perhaps my thinking is flawed. Perhaps I am just making excuses at this point. That doesn’t make this issue any easier,” said Diana distantly.

“Why is that? If it’s going to bother you this much at a time when you’re faced with so many opportunities, then it sounds quite simple. You _should_ confront this,” argued Hessia.

“You make it sound as easy as charging into battle against an army of Minotaurs. The last time I confronted Kal-El, I almost got him killed. I may be in exile, but I’m still stuck with the burdens of my heritage.”

“Do you honestly think that would scare him off? From what you’ve told me, he came to care for you every bit as much as you care for him.”

“My heart tells me that’s true. It also keeps telling me to go to him, if only to see if these past five years have made those feelings any less meaningful.”

“So then what’s stopping you?” asked Hessia.

“More than I care to admit at the moment,” said Diana. “I’ve only lived in man’s world for a year. I’m still wrapping my head around the complexities surrounding men and women, many of which Amazon tradition got dead wrong.”

“I don’t think anyone can say they fully understand such things, regardless of their traditions.”

“Be that as it may, I’m more behind than most. I don’t even know what I would say to him, what I would do, or what I would feel. When I met him, I was an ignorant teenager and he was an aimless young man. The world has gotten so much bigger for the both of us. He has his place in it. I’m still finding mine.”

“And you think there’s no room for him?” questioned Hessia.

“It’s not just him that I must consider. It’s his life, my life, and everything those lives contain that will only add to the complications. He might be willing to accept those complications, but I’m not sure I’m ready.”

She made it out to be a much larger issue than it should’ve been. She had clearly been thinking about this for quite some time. Hessia wanted to give her a simple solution, but this was not a simple issue. This was not a matter of infatuation. Plenty of women swooned over Superman. Diana’s feelings for him ran deeper. She knew him before he became the icon he was now. There were so many conflicting forces at work that went beyond basic emotions. Hessia couldn’t begin to understand them all and could only hope that Diana figured them out soon.

As Amazonian princess remained fixated on the magazine, she felt as though time was running out. That child back in Sudan who so proudly embraced the values of Superman reminded her that man’s world was changing faster than she could keep up with. As she continued to find her place in that world, she would only fall further behind if she did nothing. She had to make another difficult decision and she had to make it soon.

Diana fell silent again and so did Hessia, choosing to focus on less complicated affairs for the time being. She set the magazine aside and allowed her gaze to wander. She wasn’t going to resolve this matter anytime soon. With plenty of time to kill before their flight, she needed a distraction. Her gaze drifted towards the TV that hung over the bar. A soccer game had just ended and the bartender was flipping through the channels in hopes of finding something else. Then, as he passed over one of the news channels, Diana saw something that caught her attention.

“Wait! Go back a few channels!” said Diana as she shot up from her seat.

“You want to watch the news? Is a flight delay not depressing enough?” said the Turkish bartender.

“Please, just do it!” she demanded. “Your tip depends on it!”

The mention of a tip, coupled with her hostile tone, was enough to convince the bartender not to argue. He flipped back a few channels to the news station from earlier. It appeared to be a breaking story coming out from America, specifically Metropolis, involving a woman who had been abducted by a humanoid robot. This robot must have been desperate for attention because it announced its presence in the form a live video feed that showed him standing atop a dam, holding the barely conscious woman by her neck with a dagger held to her throat. He even sent out a threatening message that he intended everyone to hear.

_“Attention Superman – I know you’re watching this, so listen up. My name is Metallo. You probably don’t recognize me, but you and I have unfinished business. Meet me at the decommissioned East Point Dam just outside of Metropolis. Come alone and come within 20 minutes or else I slit Lois Lane’s throat on live TV.”_

This man or machine – Metallo, as he called himself - was incredibly foolish to call out Superman like this. If the story was breaking as far away as Turkey, then he must be going to great lengths to confront Superman. But this being’s arrogant bravado wasn’t what caught Diana’s attention the most.

“Hessia, look at the dagger he’s holding!” she said. “Tell me you’re seeing the same thing I’m seeing!”

Hessia, already startled by Diana’s sudden interest in the news, rose up from her chair as well and took a closer look. The video feed was somewhat poor, but the distinct design and shape of the dagger was unmistakable. Anyone who wasn’t an Amazon or intimately familiar with the works of the gods would never have noticed. It didn’t take long for it her to share Diana’s concern.

“I see it, but I wish I hadn’t,” dreaded Hessia.

“Then my eyes do not deceive me. That’s the Dagger of Deimos!” said Diana. “How could any man, let alone a monstrosity such as this, get his hand on a relic this powerful?”

“Not without direct divine assistance or spectacular divine negligence,” answered Hessia.

“I’ve never known the gods to be _this_ negligent so I’ll have to make more distressing assumptions.”

“And he’s calling out Superman directly,” said Hessia. “What could that mean? You don’t think…”

Hessia stopped herself from saying out loud the disturbing implications this had. She looked over towards Diana, who had the same look in her eyes that she always had before going into battle. She had already assessed those implications, none of which sat well with her. At that moment, the complications surrounding her feelings for Kal-El became much simpler.

“Call London. Tell the bosses I missed my flight,” said Diana as she left the bar as quickly as she could without arousing suspicion, “And be sure to leave the polite bartender a very generous tip while you’re at it.”

“Wait a minute, Diana!” urged Hessia, grabbing her arm and stopping her before she got too far. “Are you doing what I think you’re doing?”

“It needs to be done, Hessia. Don’t you dare try and stop me. He has no idea what he’s getting into. I must get to him before it’s too late!”

“I’m still inclined to point out that you’re in exile. Any interactions with the gods will only make your situation far worse.”

“I know the consequences as well as you, my sister. I’ve accepted more than my share because of this man. And I’m willing to accept more because he’s _that_ special to me.”

Diana easily broke free from Hessia’s grip. She didn’t attempt to hold her back this time. She just watched as Diana ran off, no doubt to find some place she could put her Amazonian abilities to good use. Fate, it seemed, would once again cause their paths to cross. This time it wasn’t an accident. In fact, it had the potential to be much worse. If Diana was right and the gods were somehow involved in this, then man’s world was about to become much more vulnerable.

* * *

**Up next: Divine Tools**


	7. Divine Tools

**Strangers In Paradise**   
**Chapter 7: Divine Tools**

* * *

**Metropolis – East Side Dam**

The daring video message from Metallo quickly went viral after the major news feeds picked it up. Once Superman saw that dagger being held to Lois Lane’s neck, he went into super-speed mode, slipping into a stairwell at the Daily Planet and donning his Superman costume in a fraction of a second. As soon as he was out of the building, he took to the air and headed east, leaving a miniature sonic boom in his wake.

_‘This is a trap. It has to be a trap and Lex Luthor is probably behind it. This Metallo is also packing kryptonite. He made that obvious with those glowing green eyes of his. I should head back to the Fortress, fix my lead-lined suit, and take the kryptonite out of the equation. But that would take too long. I let that thing take way too much punishment during the Titano battle last month. I can’t risk Lois’ life. After what she did for me today, I can’t let her get hurt.’_

Lois had gotten into trouble before. In fact, she had gotten into way worse trouble than this. However, Superman had more incentive than usual to save her life. Lois Lane wasn’t just a dear friend now. She also had someone in Jonathan Carroll who loved her dearly and wanted to see her return to their new home safely. Superman wasn’t about to let Luthor, Metallo, or anyone deny them that. Lois deserved that life, even if he could only be part of it as her friend.

It took less than a minute to reach the site of the East Side Dam. This site had been scheduled for demolition for nearly four months now. The river it once held back had since been diverted to a much larger reservoir, leaving only a huge slab of concrete between two rocky hills and a dried up riverbed full of construction equipment. Superman did a quick scan of the area with his telescopic and X-ray vision. Near as he could tell, there were no workers or bystanders nearby. Someone managed to get the whole site cordoned off by police tape. He should have been relieved because that meant he wouldn’t have to worry about more innocent people getting caught in the crossfire. However, he had a feeling this was just Metallo’s way of showing that he could beat him in a fair fight.

_‘He wants to piss me off. He wants me to be reckless so that I’ll fight him on his terms. But he also wants to show that he can beat me one-on-one. I’m not sure how much of this is Metallo or how much of this is Lex Luthor. It’s probably both. For all I know, they’ve got cameras hidden all over the area so they can document it. They want to the world to see that they can beat me. This will either be the greatest publicity Superman has ever received or the worst.’_

After assessing the surrounding area, Superman turned his attention to the dam itself. Metallo was standing atop its highest point, which happened to be an observation deck built right in the center of the wedge-like structure. He still had Lois at his mercy, having bound her wrists behind her back while he held the dagger to her throat. He also stood only a few feet away from the edge so he could throw her off the side if slitting her throat wasn’t enough.

Superman’s vision narrowed on the menacing robot humanoid and flew in closer, stopping about 25 feet from the edge of the deck. He had not officially entered the trap, but he expected Metallo and Lex Luthor to find some devious way to make this an unfair fight.

“You wanted to get my attention, Metallo? Well, you’ve got it,” said Superman menacingly.

“And thank you for responding so quickly,” said Metallo snidely. “For a moment, I thought I was going to have to take an eye out.”

“If you’re trying to upset me, you’re succeeding in that too.”

“Good. I want you to be upset. I want you to show the world the kind of alien you really are!”

“I take that to mean you’ve still got cameras rolling somewhere,” said Superman.

“What’s the point of defeating the world’s biggest fraud if it can’t be documented? Assume that every humiliating moment from this point forward will be preserved for generations to come!”

He spoke like a man rather than a robot, like a showman trying to stir up the audience. His voice also sounded familiar, despite having a mechanical undertone. This man/machine really believed that he was capable of defeating him and he wanted to make a spectacle out of it.

“You clearly have a personal vendetta against me. I’m willing to settle it, but not if you’re going to hide behind hostages,” said Superman strongly.

“Me? Hide behind hostages? You just keep finding other ways to insult me,” scoffed Metallo. “The lovely Ms. Lane here was just bait. She has served her purpose. I’ve no further use for her.”

“Then let her go! Trust me when I say you _don’t_ want to make me too angry,” he threatened.

“Oh trust me, Superman…I _do_. I really, _really_ do.”

With the edge of the dagger still pressed up against Lois’ neck, Metallo made good on his intentions and threw the barely conscious woman off the edge of the dam and right towards Superman. The Man of Steel could hear the horrified gasps of the millions of people watching this event unfold live. He shut them out as he instinctively flew over to catch Lois in his arms. But before he caught her, Metallo had jumped off the edge of the dam in the same direction. So the moment he had Lois in his arms, Metallo arrived and delivered a punch to the jaw that he couldn’t avoid.

The impact hurt in ways Superman wasn’t used to and sent him plummeting to the dried up riverbed below. Despite the pain, his first priority was protecting Lois. He shifted his body in mid-air, making it so his back took the brunt of the impact. Again, he did what he could to cushion the impact on Lois, holding her in his arms even as he tumbled through the mud. He managed to keep her from incurring any serious injuries, adding to his own in the process.

_‘That hurt…a lot. It’s just like I thought. That glowing in his eyes…it’s from kryptonite. I need to get some distance…need to get Lois to safety.’_

He tried taking to the sky again and flying Lois away, but Metallo landed only a few feet from him and delivered another punishing blow that sent him flying toward a tractor. This time, by taking the impact for Lois, she fell out of his arms and onto the mud. The hit was hard enough to make flying too painful. Just returning to his feet was a challenge and Metallo was already closing in for another strike.

“Are you angry yet, Superman? I can’t really tell,” taunted Metallo, “But I can tell you’re uncomfortable. You must not be used to it. I’ll bet it’s downright _alien_ , feeling as vulnerable an ordinary human.”

“Tough talk for someone willing to fight this dirty,” said Superman as he wiped some of the mud off his hands.

“There’s nothing dirty about it. I can’t have you flying away with the pretty girl to regain your strength. You’re going to stay this vulnerable! You’re going to fight me until there’s only one of us left standing!”

As Metallo approached, he opened a compartment on his chest to reveal the sizable chunk of kryptonite that powered his strength. With every step he took, Superman felt weaker. It wasn’t a fair fight by any stretch and that was probably the point.

As the imposing robot humanoid prepared for the attack, Lois finally stirred from her disheveled state. Her wrists were still bound behind her back and she was still very dazed from the knock-out gas. But when she saw Metallo approaching Superman armed with kryptonite and superhuman strength, she worried more for his safety than her own.

“Superman…you need to get away,” urged Lois.

“I can handle him, Lois. Just get somewhere safe!” Superman replied. “I’ll try to…”

“You’ll fight me and you’ll die!” barked Metallo.

Superman didn’t get a chance to aid Lois. Metallo launched another relentless attack, striking him with a punishing right cross that knocked him and the tractor behind him back even farther. Lois had to crawl away through the mud, but Metallo paid no attention to her. Now, he focused only on Superman.

The kryptonite was already having a noticeable effect. Superman couldn’t fly or move at high speeds. Everything around him slowed down as his vision became blurred. Between the pain of the attack and the nausea caused by the kryptonite, this fight was getting lopsided.

_‘That hurt even more than the last one. Can’t afford to take too many. But he’s not hiding behind Lois anymore. She convinced me that I need to learn to trust more. I need to trust that she can get away while I take care of Mr. Roboto here.’_

Metallo went in for another strike. This time, Superman fought back. He blocked the attack with his arm and struck the side of Metallo’s neck with the hardest part of his elbow. It was one of the counter-techniques that Diana had taught him years ago and it left Metallo stunned, allowing him time to push away and get some distance between them.

“Ah, so you actually do plan on fighting,” said Metallo, quickly shaking it off. “Good. I was getting bored.”

“This is usually the point where I would try to reason with you, but I think I’ll skip that step today,” said Superman, now clenching his fists in preparation for another attack.

“That’s right. Ditch the annoying boy scout routine. Show me who you really are, Superman!”

Metallo launched another attack, this time going for the knock-out punch. Superman went on the evasive, ducking and avoiding the initial onslaught. He tried to keep his distance to avoid the effects of the kryptonite. It didn’t help that the skies were still cloudy, ensuring he couldn’t replenish his strength with yellow sunlight. He had to take Metallo down quickly before he lost too much strength.

* * *

**Lexcorp Corporate Headquarters – Executive Suite**

“That’s it, Sergeant. Wear him down. Humiliate him in front of the whole world!” said Lex Luthor eagerly.

So far, this spectacle was going just as he planned. Lois Lane provided the bait, the East Side Dam provided the arena, and Metallo provided the edge. Lex even made sure that he was back in his office, sitting comfortably in his opulent executive suite so he could watch it unfold on the 70-inch flat-screen TV he had mounted next to his desk. It made for perfect theater, witnessing the downfall of an arrogant god. It was long overdue and he intended to enjoy every second of it.

Having cancelled his meetings and turned off his phone, Lex watched as the fight unfolded through a series of hidden video cameras that he had set up throughout the site. Superman had taken some early shots, but was still on his feet. He managed to get in a few counter-blows against Metallo, hitting him with a hard kick to the torso and knocking him back against a nearby bulldozer. Superman then tried hitting him with a couple of wheelbarrows and concrete dividers, but this proved ineffective against the sturdy metallo shell. At one point, Superman attempted to fly again, but he remained too weakened from the kryptonite. This ensured he stayed grounded, allowing Metallo to launch another round of attacks.

Lex had every intention of savoring every moment of this. He wanted to take in every bloody detail of Superman’s defeat. He was so focused on watching Superman suffer that he barely noticed a familiar gust of cold wind blow through his office.

“What the hell is that oversized gizmo doing? Why hasn’t he struck Superman with the dagger?” said a very agitated God of War.

“Ares…do gods not know the concept of knocking?” said an equally annoyed Lex Luthor.

“He shouldn’t waste his time trying to bloody the creature. I gave you the Dagger of Deimos specifically so this wouldn’t be necessary!” said Ares as he approached Lex’s desk.

“There’s a wide gap between what is necessary and what is satisfying. Can’t you just sit back and let Metallo enjoy defeating his enemy?”

“Don’t you dare patronize me, Luthor! I took a considerable risk just to obtain that dagger. By Zeus’s decree, it should still be locked in a safe in the deepest bowels of Olympus.”

“He’ll get around to it. Just relax. Surely that’s not outside the purview of a god,” chided Luthor.

“Why must you insist on making light of this? Have you forgotten what’s at stake?”

“Oh I understand perfectly what’s at stake for you, Ares. But I think it’s you who doesn’t understand,” Luthor retorted. “It’s not enough to just defeat Superman. He’s not some ill-equipped army that can be crushed with brute force. His defeat must send a message. The world must see that he is _not_ this ideal of truth, justice, and the American way. It needs to crumble before him in a way he can no longer defend, regardless of whether he lives or dies.”

He made it sound so personal, like he was trying to get Superman and the world to acknowledge that he was right. The gods of Olympus had more than their share of arrogance, but this mortal matched them in every way. It was annoying, but Ares was used to dealing with god-sized egos. It didn’t matter if Luthor got the vindication he so desperately craved. What mattered to him was that this battle ended with Metallo stabbing Superman with the Dagger of Deimos.

“Do what you need to do to satisfy your insatiable ego, Lex Luthor. Just make sure it ends soon,” said Ares, still fuming as he watched the TV impatiently. “Take it from someone who knows a lot about battles. The longer they’re drawn out, the more time there is for something to go horribly wrong.”

“Nothing will go wrong. I’ve accounted for every variable. Metallo _will_ defeat Superman,” said Luthor with the utmost certainly.

“I hope you’re right. For both our sake, you better be.”

* * *

**Metropolis – East Side Dam**

“I’m getting bored again, Superman. You’re either not trying very hard or you’re even more pathetic than I thought!” said an increasingly confident Metallo.

“You talk a lot…for a robot,” said an increasingly drained Superman.

“I’m not just a robot. I am what you drove me to be!”

Everything in this battle was going wrong for Superman. The tide of this battle had turned against him once more and this time he might not have the strength to fight through it. He defended against every one of Metallo’s attacks as best he could. He managed to pull off some counterstrikes, but it wasn’t nearly enough.

Not only did Metallo demonstrate a level of strength that nearly matched his own, he also showed that his new robotic form had some exotic features, such as an ability to repair himself. He was also not following some sort of pre-determined program. He fought like a man and a well-trained man at that. Now Superman was down on one knee, blood seeping from his mouth as the crippling effects of the kryptonite kept weakening him. His was running out of strength. At this point, he had thrown nearly every piece of heavy machinery and debris he could at Metallo. It slowed him down, but did little to stop him. With the rain now falling harder and Metallo closing in for another attack, Superman knew his time was running out.

_‘Don’t have much left in me. Need to get above the clouds…get some yellow sunlight in my system. I have to end this now!’_

Metallo moved in for another deadly attack. But before he could get within reach, Superman unleashed his super-breath and hit him with an arctic blast that froze the mud and rain around him. Within seconds, he was encased in a layer of ice and rendered immobile.

“You think…this will stop me?” said Metallo, already using his strength to break through the ice.

“No. But maybe _this_ will!” said a determined Superman.

Grabbing a nearby steel beam, Superman swung it like a bat and struck Metallo with enough force to send him crashing back against the dam. Before he could get up, Superman threw the beam at him like a javelin so that it hit him head on, creating a sizable dent in the thick concrete. By knocking him away and putting some distance between him and the kryptonite, he felt some of his strength return to him. It allowed him to catch his breath and re-focus himself.

“I don’t know what I did to drive you to this, but it’s stop today!” proclaimed Superman.

As Metallo attempted to dislodge himself from the dent in the dam, Superman unleashed his heat vision. He melted both the steel from the metal beam he had used and the concrete from the old dam, tempering it a way that liquefied it on the spot. Metallo kept attempting to free himself, but ended up getting stuck in the liquefied materials until he became entombed in the dam. Now Superman could hear the people watching this cheer because it looked like he had defeated this robot humanoid.

“It’s over Metallo. I’d ask you to come along quietly, but I’d rather skip that part too,” said Superman.

“That’s where you’re wrong, Superman. You will not leave me wounded and humiliated again!” said Metallo.

“Again? Why do you keep pretending like we’ve met before?”

“Look closer, Superman. Look beyond the metal. Listen to my voice. Don’t you remember? You destroyed my life in a way that made me only think of killing you every second I’m still alive…relatively speaking.”

“You’ll have to be more specific. I hear that a lot from people who blame me for their problems,” said Superman.

“I didn’t fail! I was just a soldier serving my country, trying to protect this world in a way you’ll never understand. Because of _you_ , I was dishonorably discharged and everything I ever worked for fell apart. Because of _you_ , I was left wounded and disfigured. But you could never appreciate that. You…a powerful alien who never has to worry about being vulnerable.”

Superman took a moment to scrutinize Metallo’s angry words. He listened closer to his voice and found that he did indeed recognize it. He had heard it before. The mention of a soldier who served his country only to be dishonorably discharged also jarred his memory. One name in particular came to mind and that name helped make a few troubling connections.

“Good Lord…Sergeant Corben?” he gasped.

“I used to be…until you killed him!” Metallo replied. “I still remember how it felt, being so weak and wounded. Now that I’m Metallo, I’ll see to it that you know that feeling as well!”

While Superman stood in shock at the transformation that he had undergone, Metallo unleashed an unexpected attack. He channeled the energy from the kryptonite in his chest up into his eyes. Then, with his gaze narrowed on the Man of Steel, he unleashed a concentrated beam of green energy that struck Superman right in the chest. As soon as it hit him, he fell to one knee and cringed.

“Argh!” he cried out as he clutched his chest.

“Was saving that for just the right moment,” said Metallo with smug satisfaction.

As Superman recovered from the sting, Metallo channeled more of his strength and broke from the concrete/metal shell around him. It shattered like glass, freeing him from the brink of defeat and giving him the perfect window to take Superman down once and for all.

While Superman was still clutching his chest, Metallo grabbed a piece of the now warped steel beam and threw it back at him. Superman attempted to dodge it, but still ended up getting hit in a way that sent him crashing to the muddy riverbed once more. As he struggled to return to his feet, Metallo sprinted towards him as fast as he could and delivered a punishing kick that further added to his pain. Now he laid flat on his back in a big puddle of mud, the Man of Steel was battered, bruised, and on the brink of defeat.

_‘Get up, Clark. Don’t pass out. Ignore the stabbing pain in your chest…and your torso…and your head…everywhere. You need to get up. You need to…keep fighting.’_

His mind kept urging him, but his body wouldn’t listen. The unfamiliar taste of blood and the stabbing pain kept him on his back.

“Ungh…so weak,” was all he could get out.

The rain continued pouring down his face as Metallo approached. He was now in position to deliver the final blow. The kryptonite kept him weak, but he had no intention of watching him just wither. His defeat needed to be as absolute as the defeat he suffered as John Corben.

As he walked up to the weakened Man of Steel, he retrieved the dagger that Luthor had given him. He had kept it stored away in a compartment in his leg, waiting for just the right moment to use it. Luthor told him that this dagger had the power to end Superman once and for all. While it would have been nice to draw out his humiliation, Metallo had a mission to complete. And unlike before, Superman wasn’t going to stop him from completing it.

“Was saving this for just the right moment as well,” he said, now standing over the weakened Man of Steel. “Smile for the camera’s Superman. You’re about to die in front of a global audience.”

“Don’t do this…Sergeant,” said Superman in an effort to reach the man behind the machine. “You don’t have…to be a murderer.”

“That’s where you’re wrong. I might go down in history as a murderer, but I like to think I’ll leave a more profound legacy. You come to our world, meddle in our affairs, and carry yourself like a god who cannot be stopped. Well guess what? I’m a man, living inside a machine built by another man, who _can_ stop you. Men don’t need aliens, gods, or saviors like you. You’re only holding us back. That ends today!”

Metallo raised the dagger and prepared to stab it right into his chest. Superman, still weak and unable to move, could only brace himself. With millions of horrified people watching all over the world, everything seemed to slow down for both of them.

Then, seemingly out of nowhere, a yellow lasso wrapped itself around Metallo’s arm and stopped his arm before it could even get halfway to Superman.

“What the…” he began.

“Enough of your babble! This fight is not over yet,” said a powerful female voice.

Before Metallo could even turn around, something tugged the lasso with the kind of strength that couldn’t have come from an ordinary human. He soon found himself flying back, as though gravity itself had turned against him, until he crashed into the face of the dam again, not far from where he hit earlier. This time he hit with even more force than before, causing large cracks to form in the concrete. It was enough to disrupt his systems, leaving him stunned.

“No! Have to get back…to Superman. I have to finish him off!” he exclaimed.

With the dagger still in hand and the lasso still around his arm, he attempted to crawl out from the dent in the dam once more. He didn’t get very far. As soon as his arm reached out onto the muddy riverbed, a boot stepped on his wrist and pinned him. Metallo then looked up to see the one who had been wielding the lasso.

It was a woman and a very imposing woman from the looks of it. She wore a golden tiara, red boots, silver wrist bands, and unique attire that highlighted her strong feminine figure in every possible way. Showing that she had the kind of strength that could match his, she gave the lasso a hard tug to throw him off-balance again.

“You wish to slay an innocent, Metallo? You’ll have to go through me!” she proclaimed.

“And just who are you supposed to be?” said Metallo.

“I am Diana, Princess of Themyscira. Now prepare yourself. The world is about to see you for the pathetic man you really are!”

* * *

**London – Earlier**

Diana returned to her apartment in London at speeds that rivaled Hermes himself, taking to the skies the moment she stepped out of the airport in Turkey. She probably attracted plenty of attention in the process. For all she knew, she raised red flags with every airport radar station and military satellite in Europe. She promised Hessia that she would minimize the use of her powers in order to blend in with man’s world and see it from their perspective. Now, she couldn’t just be an ordinary woman anymore. She had to be an Amazon again.

_‘Mother, I know you wouldn’t approve of this. I’m sure every one of my sisters would scold me just as harshly. But I’ve been putting this off long enough.’_

She entered her walk-in closet, which was lined mostly with the traditional attire of a well-traveled woman who worked for an international organization. But in the back of the closet, there was a false wall that she installed shortly after she moved in. It was so heavy that only an Amazon had the strength to unlock it. Armed with this strength, Diana opened it to reveal the distinct Amazonian attire that she once wore into battle.

Her thoughts raced faster as she looked upon the tiara, bracelets, lasso, and battle armor for the first time in nearly a year. Diana swore to herself that she would not wear it again until she gained a sufficient understanding of man’s world. Hessia convinced her that this world was not ready for an Amazon warrior to join the growing pantheon of superheroes, nor was she ready to be that warrior. Hessia might still be right on many levels, but now the gods were involved and man’s world was not equipped to deal with that. Only an Amazon could.

_‘I might not be ready to completely embrace man’s world, but they had better be ready to embrace me.’_

Diana undressed and donned her attire once more, her thoughts still racing at the implications of what she had seen. The gods were supposed to have ceased their involvement in the affairs of man. Seeing the Dagger of Deimos revealed that at least one of the gods had broken that unspoken decree. If there was a larger conflict on Olympus unfolding, then it would likely affect many outside the shores of Themyscira. And Superman might end up being the first victim. She couldn’t let that happen. Even if she had to battle the gods themselves, she would not let them slay an innocent, honorable man.

“Time to be a warrior again,” she said to herself as she put on her bracelets and strapped on her lasso. “The will of the gods might be strong, but fate is always stronger. I’m coming to help you again, Kal-El. This time, I hope fate is kinder to us.”

* * *

**Metropolis – East Side Dam**

“You abomination of a man! I will end you on this day!” exclaimed Diana, now on an unstoppable war path.

The battle against Metallo had once again become lopsided, but in a way neither he nor Superman ever could have expected. Once Diana went on the attack, there was no holding back. She unleashed her wrath on Metallo as if he were a titan from the deepest pits of Tartarus.

As she expected, he refused to submit after she initially subdued him. Metallo pushed back, freeing himself from her lasso and attempting to shove her aside so that he could try again to finish Superman. She didn’t allow him to take more than a few steps before she struck him again, this time with her bare hands. Her strength caught Metallo off guard again, knocking him right into a large mound of mud. This time, Diana didn’t demand his submission. She just attacked, punching and striking him in an unstoppable bombardment. While his metal form was durable, it sustained significant damage as a result.

Metallo still attempted to fight back. With the Dagger of Deimos still in hand, he attempted to strike her with it. He had significant combat skill, holding the dagger with a firm grip and going for her neck and shoulder area. But his skill was no match for that of a trained Amazon.

“You’re not fit to wield such a weapon,” said Diana as she easily evaded the attacks. “You think yourself a warrior, but you lack the heart and skill.”

“I don’t know who you’re supposed to be, but you’re pissing me off!” yelled Metallo with growing frustration.

His attacks with the dagger became more aggressive. Diana deflected every one of them with her bracelets. Since they were also forged by the gods, it effectively countered its power. Knowing such power was too much for the hands of any man, she made sure he didn’t get a chance to use it. When he tried to stab her again, she skillfully evaded the attack, grabbed his arm, and hit the elbow joint so hard that it severed the limb completely.

“Ahhh! You stupid bitch! You’re ruining everything!” exclaimed Metallo.

“No. Just you!” spat the Amazonian warrior.

Now with only one arm, Metallo was at an even greater disadvantage and Diana exploited it fully. She struck him again with a hard kick to the torso, sending him back into the big pile of mud. She then went onto hit him again with an onslaught of punches, slugging him across the face again and again. Since he couldn’t block, he sustained heavy damage. Wires and circuits were exposed. Sparks shot out from his inner components. And unlike Superman, the kryptonite was not making her weaker.

This battle, which was still being streamed live all over the world, left Superman in a state of shock. Even though he was still weak and sore from Metallo’s attacks, seeing Diana again triggered a range of feelings that he was not equipped to process. This woman who had only existed in brief memories and vague dreams was actually here, aiding him again in his time of need.

“Diana…it’s really you,” he said, smiling despite his pain.

She was a sight to behold, especially while subduing a dangerous enemy like Metallo. She kept on punching him, so much so that the sturdy metal shell began to warp. Metallo now had the appearance of a boxer who had gone too many rounds against a superior fighter. His every attempt to fight back failed, leaving him prone and damaged in a thick layer of mud.

Eventually, Diana let up once it appeared that Metallo had sustained critical damage. With so many inner components exposed and so much damage to his systems, he couldn’t possibly continue fighting. Diana stopped short of ending him where he stood. She needed this monstrosity alive so she could find out who gave him the Dagger of Deimos. Once Metallo appeared on the brink of shutting down, she put her foot on his neck and stood over him triumphantly.

“Yield,” she said firmly. “If you cooperate, I will show you mercy.”

Metallo responded with incoherent static at first. He was still conscious, but heavily damaged. He kept struggling under her strength, but she made sure he stayed pinned in defeat.

With his systems failing, Metallo only briefly considered her offer. However, the soldier in him refused to accept defeat. He still had a mission. He came here to defeat Superman and he wasn’t going to let some strange woman get in his way. As the rain continued to fall, he sought one last attack. Looking briefly at his damaged arm and back at Diana, he saw an opportunity.

“You’re…underdressed for battle. That’s not wise for a woman,” he said, his voice still laced with static.

“You would be wise to refrain from misogynistic remarks,” scolded Diana.

“And you would be wise…to wear pants.”

Using her choice of attire to his advantage, Metallo jammed the sparking end of his severed arm into her exposed thigh. He then overloaded the circuits going into the wires in the arm, sending a powerful jolt of electricity into the woman.

“Aagh!” Diana exclaimed as a paralyzing shock shot up through her body.

She ended up stumbling back, releasing Metallo in the process. He then shot up from the mud and grabbed her by the neck with his remaining arm. He would have loved to choke the life out of her for what she just did to him, but he chose to save his wrath for Superman. While she was stunned, he threw her back towards the face of the dam as hard as he could. She ended up impacting near the same spot he had hit earlier. He doubted it would subdue her, but it should leave her subdued long enough for him to finish the job.

“If only I could’ve done that with my ex-wife,” said Metallo, damaged yet determined.

Metallo then retrieved the arm that had been knocked off earlier, which still had the dagger in hand. He hooked it back into his system, which quickly reintegrated it. He then set his sights on Superman, who still hadn’t returned to his feet, and sprinted towards him at full speed. He didn’t bother letting the rest of his systems repair themselves. He didn’t need to be intact to complete his mission.

“Your girlfriend can’t save you, Superman. Now you die!” yelled Metallo.

He moved in for the killing blow, going straight for his neck before Superman could fully regain his composure. But had he seen Superman’s expression when he made his threat, he would have seen a much angrier foe. After seeing what he did to Diana, all the complicated feelings that emerged from seeing her again became much more focused.

Superman waited until Metallo began his attack, letting him get even closer than before. At the last possible second, he evaded the slash, getting lightly grazed by the dagger along his shoulder in the process. He then employed yet another tactic Diana taught him during their time together, deflecting Metallo’s arm and slipping behind him so that he could pull him into a choke hold. He made sure to apply extra pressure to his neck and lower back, doing more damage to his already damaged systems. He was still weak due to the kryptonite and the lack of sunlight, but he was still plenty strong enough to make Metallo regret what he just did.

“A real man does _not_ hit a lady,” said Superman in a deep, angry tone.

“Errr! Kill you!” roared Metallo.

He tried freeing the arm wielding the dagger. Superman didn’t let it go. For a moment, they struggled. When Metallo attempted to stab him again, he ended up losing his grip on the dagger and it went flying into the thick woods to the east of the site. Now disarmed and unable to direct the kryptonite towards him, Superman delivered another devastating blow. First, he struck Metallo in the lower back with his knee, nearly breaking his metal spinal column in the process and leaving him stunned. He then delivered a punishing haymaker that sent him flying back towards the face of the dam.

Diana recovered quickly as this attack unfolded, shaking off the impact just in time to see what Superman was doing. She immediately joined in, taking to the air before Metallo was even halfway to the dam. Flying at high speeds, she met him in midair where she threw one last devastating punch that sent him crashing to the ground like a meteor.

“And a wise man does not hit a lady who can hit back,” said Diana upon delivering the blow.

Metallo never heard her words. All he heard was his metal form hitting the muddy riverbed with a loud thud that shook the entire site and left a sizable crater. He also felt more damaged being done to his systems. He was now that his inner components began sparking erratically. He could barely move, let alone fight back. He still saw Diana hovering over him and noticed Superman approaching. Between losing the dagger and dealing with a woman every bit as strong as Superman, his mission now seemed doomed to failure. However, he remained defiant.

“You think…I’m defeated? I will…fix myself! I will…kill you both!” yelled Metallo.

“Why don’t you shut up first?” said another voice that he had completely forgotten about.

Superman and Diana were already grinning. They knew who that voiced belonged to and before Metallo could recall, the sound of a steamroller being turned on gave him more immediate concerns. He attempted to crawl out of the muddy crater while repairing his systems as much as he could. He only made it a few feet before he felt the shadow of the steamroller approaching. When he turned to face it, he saw Lois Lane in the driver’s seat. He tried to escape, but it was too late.

Superman and Diana watched with supreme satisfaction as Lois ran Metallo over with the steamroller, crushing his damaged legs and completely severing his cybernetic spine to ensure he wouldn’t be getting up this time. Lois made sure to stop just before it reached his chest. Just crushing this man/machine to death after what he had just done would have been too easy.

“Couldn’t let you guys have all the fun now, could I?” said Lois as she hopped down from the driver’s seat.

“And here I was hoping that you would run to safety and get help,” chided Superman.

“Now aren’t you glad I didn’t?” said Lois, “Although if you had told me your _girlfriend_ was in town, I’d have been a little more tactful.”

Superman and Diana exchanged awkward glances. Diana coming to his aid during his time of need certainly sent some mixed messages. Since this whole struggle had been streamed live all over the world, people were going to start making conclusions. That didn’t even begin to cover the many feelings they had been struggling with over the past five years. It still didn’t make seeing each other again any less meaningful. It would have made for a fitting reunion had Metallo not ruined it.

“This…isn’t over. I…will not…be humiliated again. Not by Superman…or his friends!” barked Metallo as he writhed under the head of the steamroller.

Lois shifted her attention from Superman and Diana, having not forgotten that there was a story here.

“Hold that thought. I have some burning questions for the walking erector set here,” said Lois.

“As do I,” said Diana. “This man is wielding weapons he shouldn’t be wielding. I demand to know where you got them!”

“I’ll tell you…nothing,” said Metallo defiantly.

“Why don’t we plug your ass into a few car batteries and see if we can’t change your mind?” threatened Lois.

“I’m…a soldier. Do your worst.”

“That won’t be necessary,” said Diana.

Now standing next to Lois over the defeated Metallo, Diana retrieved her lasso and wrapped it around his neck. The rope briefly glowed as the magic within went to work.

“You are now bound by my Lasso of Truth. You are now compelled by the Fires of Hestia to respond to every question truthfully,” she proclaimed.

“Seriously? That thing will _magically_ make him tell the truth?” said Lois with a raised eyebrow.

“He might be a machine, but he is still a man,” replied Diana. “Now answer me this man – who gave you the dagger you were wielding?”

Metallo resisted answering at first, but the glowing lasso forced him to blurt out the answer.

“Lex Luthor,” he said bitterly. “He gave it to me.”

“And where did he get it?” Diana demanded

“I don’t know. He just told me it had the power to kill Superman.”

It was not the answer Diana hoped for. It raised more disturbing questions than it answered. Only the gods could have possibly put the Dagger of Deimos in the hands of a mortal. If the gods were involved somehow, they made sure to cover their tracks. She expected as such, leaving her with little else to go on.

However, Lois Lane had plenty of questions as well. Magic aside, this might be the only opportunity she would get to uncover her story.

“Okay, I’m impressed and extremely jealous,” said Lois. “Mind if I dig a little deeper?”

“By all means,” said Diana, tightening the lasso a bit.

“First off, say for the cameras that you are Sergeant John Corben – as in the same John Corben who’s supposed to be dead,” said Lois.

“I am…Sergeant John Corben…United States Army Special Forces,” he answered. “I served for seven years…until I was dishonorably discharged for conducting an illegal operation in South America that…killed 431 civilians.”

“Thanks for confirming what that joke of a military court decided to throw out. Now answer me this – do you work for Lex Luthor?”

“Yes. I do,” said Metallo, hating every moment of this.

“And as his loyal soldier turned fancy toy, was he responsible for the incident in Syria a year ago involving your oversized predecessor?”

This could be the break that finally took down Lex Luthor. A confession from the man who had been in the driver’s seat of that conflict, who was also supposed to be dead, would do more than just discredit Lexcorp. It would reverberate with all his allies and supporters. And this time, his lawyers and charisma couldn’t protect them.

Metallo understood the ramifications as well and had been ordered not to divulge such information under any circumstances. He tried resisting again, but the glowing lasso would not allow him to remain silent. He had no other recourse than to tell the truth.

“I…” he began.

But his ability to talk unexpectedly ceased. He opened his mouth, but no words came out. Metallo tried again, but his systems wouldn’t allow him. Then, he felt all his systems freeze and saw an ominous message flash before his eyes.

_“Emergency Protocols Alpha activated. Self-destruct sequence initiated.”_

As this sequence was initiated, every one of Metallo’s functions froze and Sergeant John Corben was effectively shut down. Once offline, every exposed wire began sparking erratically, giving off intense energy outbursts. His green glowing eyes flashed with greater intensity and the kryptonite fragment became unstable.

“Is that the magic again?” asked Lois anxiously as she watched the process unfold.

“No. It is not,” dreaded Diana.

Then, as if following one last program, Metallo turned towards Superman, who had kept his distance due to the kryptonite. And in one last desperate attack, he fired a concentrated beam of kryptonite energy before going completely offline.

_“Superman must die!”_ he exclaimed in a pre-recorded death cry.

“Ahhhhhhh!” exclaimed Superman as the beam struck him point blank.

“No!” cried Lois.

In an instant, the concentrated kryptonite energy surged through his system. It felt like a double dose of poison being dumped into his veins, rendering him so weak and sickly that he fell to his knees and keeled over. His skin also became discolored, turning a shade of light green. He would have fallen face-first into the mud had Diana not been there to catch him.

“Superman!” she gasped. “What’s happening to him?”

“Kryptonite poisoning,” said Lois angrily as she scolded Metallo’s now unmoving form. “I’ve seen it before. It’s not something he can just walk off. Luthor probably knew that and programmed it as a failsafe.”

“So how do we help him?!” said Diana desperately.

Both women panicked as they watched Superman get sicker by the second. Lex Luthor really had gone to every possible length to make sure he won. Now they didn’t even have anything or anyone to fight against.

But Superman didn’t stop struggling, even as he struggled to remain conscious. As Diana cradled his head in her arms, he reached for her hand and grasped it. He still had a touch of strength left. Lex Luthor could not be allowed to win.

“The sun. Get me…above the clouds,” he said to her.

“You heard the man. Fly him up outta here!” barked Lois, still hovering over Metallo.

“Hang on, Kal-El. I will save you,” said Diana strongly.

“Wouldn’t be the first time,” said Superman under his breath.

Diana swiftly retrieved her lasso and hitched Superman’s arm around her neck, taking great care not to add to his discomfort. She saw in his eyes the same gaze that she had seen five years ago. Ironically, fate once again required that she save him in the face of dire circumstances. And this time, she had even more reasons to save this man.

Once he was secure, Diana ascended into the rainy skies. Before she got too far, she turned back towards Lois.

“Thank you for aiding me in this battle, sister. I promise I’ll save him!” said Diana.

“Be sure that you do,” said Lois, “And you can thank me by coming back and granting me an interview. I have a feeling you just became the second biggest part of this story.”

Lois wasn’t sure that she heard that last part. She had a feeling that this mystery woman wouldn’t be coming back to answer her burning questions. A woman running around in what amounted to a one-piece swimsuit, a tiara, and boots wasn’t just news. It was a spectacle. Even though there were super-powered women who ran around in much less, none of them demonstrated strength on par with Superman and had the skill to go along with it. She had a feeling this wouldn’t be the last anyone saw of that woman and she would definitely become news in her own right.

“She’s not coming back,” sighed Lois. “I don’t know who you are or why you think I’m your sister, but you ruined Lex Luthor’s elaborate plan. That makes you okay in my book.”

Since she wouldn’t be getting any additional information on this mystery woman, Lois turned her attention back to the story that got her involved in this mess. She looked down at the unmoving Metallo. His eyes had stopped glowing and many of his exposed components were still sparking erratically under the pouring rain. He clearly had insight into Lex Luthor’s operations, but now he wasn’t in any condition to reveal the details she needed to bury that man once and for all. In a fit of frustration, she kicked his lifeless metal head.

“Next time, I’ll run you over head-first,” she said bitterly.

As Lois fumed over the story had been ripped from her grasp, she heard the distinct sound of helicopter blades in the distance. Being the daughter of a General who grew up on an army base, she recognized this sound as not belonging to any military hardware. She looked back towards the area south of the dam and saw a small news helicopter descend through the dreary weather and land in a clearing near the riverbed.

At first, Lois was suspicious. For all she knew, these were Lex Luthor’s people coming to detain her. But when she saw the familiar figure of Jonathan Carroll exit the passenger’s side, she abandoned her usual reluctance and ran to him as fast as her legs would carry her.

“Jonathan!” exclaimed Lois. “My God, you’ve never looked more beautiful with your shirt on.”

As soon as she reached him, she threw her arms around him and crashed her lips against his in a way that almost knocked Jonathan off his feet. But he didn’t hesitate to embrace her, even in the pouring rain.

“Lois…you’re okay, personality and all,” said Jonathan.

“Glad to see you took a break from unpacking,” she said curtly. “How the hell did you manage to get out here before the cavalry?”

“The traffic guy owes me a few favors. As soon as I saw that crazy robot holding a knife to your neck, I cashed it in. I even brought my tool kit so I can rip that thing apart bolt-by-bolt.”

“You’re sweet, but I’m afraid Luthor beat you to it,” said Lois. “He’s just a glorified manikin now, but I at least got him to confess to the Syria debacle before someone shut him down.”

Jonathan’s demeanor shifted. He had a look in his eyes that Lois recognized in everybody she knew in that it hinted at some very discouraging news.

“Yeah, about that…” he began.

“Don’t tell me. For once, be like all my other boyfriends and lie to me,” groaned Lois.

“Sorry, but I can’t do that for a woman I just moved in with. Luthor must have sensed the battle turning against him so he cut the feed,” said Jonathan. “Shortly after that woman in the tiara threw him into the dam, everything turned to static. It damn near crashed every social media site on the planet.”

“So that means Metallo’s big confession might as well have never happened,” she said bitterly. “Just when I thought I couldn’t hate Luthor any worse, he has to be so goddamn cunning again!”

“Hold on, Lois. Before you get into another one of your Luthor-hating moods, there’s one other tidbit I need to tell you.”

“I’m not sure I can stomach any more bad news after a day like this,” groaned Lois.

“Actually, I think you’ll appreciate this. I said Luthor cut the feed. I didn’t say there was no footage of everything that happened afterwards.”

“What do you mean?” she asked intently.

Jonathan flashed her that proud grin that he knew drove Lois so crazy. He briefly turned back towards the helicopter and signaled the pilot, who gave him a thumbs-up and a nod to confirm what he needed. So much of this story had gone horribly wrong, but that didn’t mean it had to be a total loss.

“Remember that new high-definition news camera I bought? The one you said I paid _way_ too much for?” said Jonathan.

“Seriously Jonathan, if you don’t skip the part where you act like a smart ass, you’ll never see me naked again,” threatened Lois.

“I’ll assume you remember because we flew in low to get some extras that Luthor probably doesn’t want in the theatrical cut. I even tweaked the sound system on the chopper to get some audio. It’ll take a little creative editing, but I think we can salvage Terminator-light here’s statement.”

Lois stood in a rare state of shock as she processed the implications. She looked back towards Metallo. Then she looked back at Jonathan, who kept grinning as though he knew exactly what was going through her mind. It didn’t take long to make all the right connections. Lex Luthor probably took plenty of precautions to ensure Metallo didn’t say anything incriminating, but he couldn’t have accounted for her having such a resourceful lover. Despite the pouring rain, Lois skipped the part where she called Perry and kissed her boyfriend again. This time, she made sure it contained more than just gratitude.

“God damn it, Jonathan Carroll. Only you could make a day like this feel so worth it,” said Lois, her arms still wrapped securely around his neck.

“You’re welcome,” he said curtly.

“Please tell me you brought that wine with you.”

“I kept it on ice. I even brought those new glasses you gave me. But what about Superman?”

“I wouldn’t worry about him,” said Lois, ready to start celebrating. “From what I saw, he’s in good hands.”

* * *

**Above The Clouds**

_‘Fate keeps finding new ways to strain my heart. My path crossed with this man when he was in peril. In doing so, he evoked in me so many strange thoughts and feelings. Now here I am, again aiding him in his time of need. What sort of feelings will I have this time? How much more strain will my heart endure before my fate with this man is revealed?’_

Diana ascended through the thick clouds and sharp winds as quickly as the power of the gods would allow her. She never doubted for a second that she would be unable to save Kal-El. He was too strong and she was too determined. Fate would simply not allow this to be the end. It could only be the beginning of something much more profound.

As soon as she broke through the top of the thick clouds, she felt the hot rays of the afternoon sun. It was warm and refreshing in wake of the dreary conditions on the ground. Diana made sure that Superman was facing it directly, ensuring he could absorb as much of its nourishing light as possible. He was still weak and sickly. He remained incoherent and his skin was green. But as soon as he faced the sun, his breathing steadied and his condition stopped deteriorating.

“Hnn…Diana,” he said in a dazed tone.

“I’m here, Kal. I’m not going to leave you this time. I’m going to make sure you’re okay,” said Diana.

She wasn’t sure if he heard him, but it was something she needed to hear herself say. She hadn’t forgotten the circumstances under which they parted ways. They never got a chance to talk and reflect on what they experienced together during those fateful days on the shores of Themyscira. There were so many things left unsaid and so many feelings left unfelt. She wasn’t sure how these last six years had affected Kal, but she needed to let him know just how much the experiences they shared affected her.

“Just relax, breathe, and listen to my voice,” she said to him in a soothing tone. “A lot has happened since the day you left. There are so many stories I have to tell you. After meeting you, my life was never the same. You opened my eyes to a much bigger world. You made me feel things things I never once dared. Because of you, my life became so much more complicated. At the same time, it became so much more meaningful.”

Superman remained in daze. He had entered a meditative state of sorts, allowing him to absorb more sunlight and heal accordingly. Diana already noticed the color returning to his skin. She also felt his strength returning, but she didn’t let go of him. Just feeling him in her arms reminded her of all the ways her life had changed because of this man.

“You’ve grown since the last time we met. That youthful spirit has given way to a powerful, mature man,” said Diana with deep affection. “I know of your exploits. You’ve gone from a warrior of opportunity to a warrior of vision. You’ve become everything a good man could strive to be and you inspire others to become even more. But I can say without a shred of doubt that you inspired me the most, Kal-El. You encouraged me to achieve such amazing wonders.”

Diana kept watching and smiling as the sickly green faded completely from Superman’s complexion. His skin now felt as warm and lively as he had the day she last embraced him. His eyes remained closed and he continued his deep breaths, maintaining his meditative state. Diana couldn’t even tell if he had heard what she said, but that didn’t matter. Just saying it out loud felt so refreshing.

As she held him under the light of the sun, more of those old feelings she felt as a teenager came rushing back. On Themyscira, she had to suppress these feelings. She either didn’t understand them or thought they were unbefitting of an Amazon. But she was not an immature teenager anymore. She was a grown woman and she was not on Themyscira anymore. So rather than suppress, she let these feelings guide her. This led her face to drift closer to his. But just before their lips touched, Superman’s eyes opened.

“It’s great to see you again, Diana. You’ve grown too,” he said.

Startled from her daze, Diana pulled back. In doing so, she released her grip on him. He could now hover on his own, the sun having healed him fully from the kryptonite. He could also finally take in the sight of seeing Diana again after wondering if she would only ever exist in his memories.

“Um…I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to get ahead of myself,” said Diana with a sheepish grin.

“Don’t be sorry,” he said. “You saved me…again. I’m not used to that, but I don’t mind it in the slightest.”

Superman hovered closer so he could caress her face and feel her warm flesh. She welcomed his touch again, placing her hands on his arms to feel his warmth as well. She felt just as warm and welcoming as he remembered. All the strain from the Metallo fight faded in wake of this moment. It was a moment that had been five years in the making, yet it still wasn’t enough time to prepare him for this.

“I uh…love your new uniform,” said Superman, blurting out the first thing that came to mind.

“Really Kal? Six years and that’s the first thing you notice?” teased Diana.

“Well I um…” he stammered.

“It’s okay. There are far less appropriate comments you could’ve made,” she said with a friendly smile. “I like your new uniform too. It’s much more refined than the jeans. It shows how you’ve grown into a handsome man while preserving that boyish charm.”

“Wish I could tap some of that charm right now. Because honestly, I’m at a bit of a loss here.”

“That makes two of us,” said Diana, hiding her own awkward disposition.

“The day I left, I had no idea what would happen to you. I didn’t think I would ever see you again. There were times I worried that…”

His words trailed off, not wanting to describe all the horrible possibilities he once contemplated. He just kept caressing her warm skin, assuring himself that she was here now and still as stunning as ever.

“I actually tried looking for Themyscira, if only to make sure you were okay,” Superman continued, “I scanned every square mile of the Mediterranean, but I couldn’t find it.”

“I’m not surprised. Shortly after you left, my mother had our mystics strengthen the magical cloak that shrouds Themyscira,” said Diana. “She became much more _protective_ and my sisters much less trusting.”

“How bad did it get? Were you…hurt?” he asked, choosing his words carefully.

“I was punished for helping you, but rest assured I was not harmed and I have no regrets. If faced with the same decision, I would do it again gladly and endure far worse. That’s how much you affected me, Kal. And it’s because of you that I became a better warrior than I ever could have dreamed.”

Hearing this made him smile in ways that negated any lingering awkwardness. Diana still had the tone and poise of the compassionate, head-strong girl he remembered so fondly. But now she was a woman and he had a major influence on the woman she became. He affected her just as she affected him. Even after five years, those effects were still sinking in.

For a moment, they just hovered together in the warm rays of the sun, allowing time for all these dormant feelings to come rushing back to them. It felt so unexpected yet so right. It was only recently that they began contemplating those feelings again. Now here they were, drawn together once more by a twisted combination of fate and circumstances.

“It sounds like you’ve been through a lot,” said Superman.

“Speak for yourself, Superman,” said Diana as she fondly trailed her hand over the big red S on his chest. “You’ve become quite an icon – a god in the eyes of some and a hero in the eyes of many.”

“A lot of that started after I met you. I’ve made a lot of tough decisions, met a lot of amazing people, and been through plenty of battles.”

“As have I,” she said. “It would seem we’ve done a lot with ourselves over the past six years.”

“And I don’t want to wait another six years to tell you all about it. I don’t know what your situation is now with your family, but I’d like to catch up before something else tears us apart.”

“Kal, I didn’t fly across the world and battle some mechanical monstrosity just to leave you again,” said Diana. “There’s no one to hide from, no secrets to keep, and nothing to tear us apart. I promise.”

“Then come with me,” said Superman, taking her hand and flying with her through the afternoon sky. “I trust Lois to handle the situation down below. There are a lot of things I want to show you. And at some point, we’ll also have to discuss what you just showed the world.”

* * *

**Lexcorp Corporate Headquarters – Executive Suite**

No matter how brilliant a plan may be, it was still always be subject to a certain level of chaos. Many of Lex Luthor’s achievements were due to his ability to navigate that chaos in ways no lesser mind ever could. He thought he had succeeded with Metallo. He took every precaution, factored in every variable, and accounted for every possible anomaly. But in the end, it had been ruined. Worst of all, it had been ruined by something he never could have accounted for.

“God damn it!” cursed Luthor as he threw what was supposed to be a victory bottle of champagne at his TV. “Everything was going _perfectly_. Superman was defeated. Then some bitch with a lasso shows up and ruins it?”

“It’s worse than that, Luthor…much worse,” dreaded Ares, who could only share so much of Luthor’s outburst. “I had feared this might happen. I suspected the Dagger of Deimos might draw unwanted attention.”

“You mean you knew? And you didn’t think to tell me?” yelled Luthor.

“I had no idea it would draw _her_ attention.”

“So you know her.”

“She’s supposed to be in exile. She’s supposed to be shamed and uninvolved in Olympian affairs. This changes things _significantly_ ,” said Ares with a rare touch of nervousness in his tone. “One missing relic from Olympus’ arsenal isn’t usually enough to draw Zeus’ ire. But this along with the presence of Diana is more than enough to…”

The God of War unexpectedly froze in mid-sentence. His whole body went stiff like a statue, becoming paralyzed where he stood. Then, a bright blue shroud of energy surrounded him, causing the lights throughout the office to flicker and any nearby electronics to spark. Luthor, still in a rage, took a step back and looked around in confusion.

“What the hell is going on?” Luthor demanded.

“My father…he knows,” he said, barely able to get the words out.

“By your father, I take it you mean a god more powerful than you?”

Ares expected little sympathy from Lex Luthor, but he also understood that his situation was dire. With his father now enraged, he could expect even less sympathy. But that didn’t mean his war had to end. It just meant he would have to fight a different kind of battle.

“Luthor…my temple…armor…find it…must release,” he stammered, but that was all he could manage.

The God of War disappeared in a burst of sparks, knocking out a few desk lights in the process. Luthor had to shield his eyes, but he had heard what Ares said. He had a feeling this so-called god had other resources he hoped to tap. If his father was the vindictive type, then he couldn’t expect to tap them on his own. That meant they were up for grabs and after what had just transpired in front of a global audience, he might need them.

“You gods are so useless,” scoffed Luthor. “You demand our prayers, but expect us to do all the work.”

Lex Luthor now had even fewer reasons to trust Ares than before, but he saw an opportunity that he couldn’t afford to squander. Despite his frustration, he formulated another plan. This time, he couldn’t just focus on Superman. He had other pseudo-gods running around, looking to disrupt his plans. He had to think bigger and strike harder. Ares probably expected him to only do so much, but now he had more than just his ego at stake. These gods thought he was just another mortal they could manipulate. He was about to prove them wrong.

Knowing that the clock was now ticking, Luthor took out his cell phone and made a call he hoped wouldn’t be necessary. Carrying out any new plan at this point would prove difficult, but he always made sure he had a contingency in place. As soon as he got an answer, he put this plan into action.

_“What’s the story, Mr. Luthor? How bad is it?”_ answered a female voice on the other end.

“Not as bad as it could be, Mercy. Did you ensure that Metallo’s emergency shut-down was complete?” asked Luthor.

_“Affirmative. His systems are purged. There’s no way the authorities will glean anything from his memory banks. I managed to stop the broadcast as well, but I think Lois Lane still might have something.”_

“I’m going to assume it’s incriminating. The FBI and Interpol will probably be at my front door by morning so we’ll need to act fast. Tell me, did you retrieve the dagger?”

_“I had to wade through some mud and ruin some perfectly good heels, but I got it. Not sure why, but the thing started glowing a few moments ago and hasn’t stopped. Should I be worried?”_

“Not in the slightest,” said Luthor with greater intrigue. “Make sure the dagger is secure and meet me at my private airfield. We’re going on an extended trip and that dagger is our ticket to making it a success.”

_“I’ll be there,”_ Mercy responded. _“What kind of trip are we talking about here?”_

“The kind that will require time and tact, something I’m not at all used to. But the potential payoff this time – well, let’s just say it would make the gods themselves envious.”

* * *

**Olympus – The Oblivion Dungeon**

“My son – I thought you were done disappointing me like this,” said cold, powerful voice.

The God of War wasn’t used to being ripped from a battlefield and thrown into a cage like an animal. Unfortunately, he was used to his father’s condescending tone whenever he scolded him for doing something he deemed unacceptable by his utterly arbitrary standards. He knew better than most that Zeus’ wrath was harsh and swift, but sometimes it was too swift.

One moment, he stood paralyzed in the presence of Lex Luthor. The next, he stood paralyzed in a small, cube-like cell hovering over a vast pit in the depths of Mount Olympus. Ares recognized these surroundings all too well. This was the Oblivion Dungeon, constructed by Daedalus himself in the narrow realm between Olympus and the Underworld. It was typically reserved for the most dangerous of creatures that could neither be tamed nor destroyed. Each cell had the power to contain a god and over the centuries, some gods had even been imprisoned here. Until now, Ares had never been one of them.

As the God of War stood paralyzed within his cell, Zeus hovered close by with folded arms and a harsh scowl. He didn’t expect much remorse from his son. Ares rarely apologized for anything he did. While this latest act was probably not the worst transgression he ever committed, the Father of Olympus could not afford him such patience.

“You came down more swiftly than usual, Father. Were you just looking for someone to take your frustrations out on?” said Ares, still partially paralyzed.

“Don’t speak to me as though I’m ignorant of your many crimes,” said Zeus. “I warned you, Ares. I warned you more times than I should have. We are _not_ to involve ourselves in the affairs of the mortal world. We needed you here to aid your fellow gods. Your father needed you here to protect the very foundations of Olympus.”

“Don’t pretend your desires are so noble, father. You needed me to protect your precious throne. You’re no longer powerful enough to protect it yourself so you need us – your lowly minions and offspring – to aid you.”

“What I need are sons and daughters capable of seeing beyond their own selfish endeavors,” retorted Zeus. “You’re always conspiring to spark your next war, even as one rages here in your own home.”

“It’s not _my_ war. You would never let it be _my_ war,” said Ares.

“Yet you would undermine it and everyone on Olympus for your own selfish war. I thought I sent a clear enough message when I forbid you from seeking Diana as a pupil. Apparently, I was not clear enough.”

“Perhaps you should be less vague next time. I’m not one of the gullible mortals who used to pray to you,” said the God of War dryly. “I cannot rely on false oracles or blind faith.”

“Be careful with your insolence, Ares. I’m certainly capable of making your time here less pleasant,” said Zeus.

“Then let’s skip the part where you try to get me to apologize for taking the Dagger of Deimos out from under your nose and say what you need to say. I know you’re only capable of being so just. Quit expecting me to be intimidated by it.”

Zeus’ gaze narrowed. The cube-shaped cell shrank briefly, making it even more uncomfortable for Ares. The God of War only showed minor discomfort. Given all the torment he had inflicted over the ages, he was hardened to it. Zeus had every reason to cast his son down into the deepest pit of Tartarus where he could never wage war again. Unfortunately, extenuating circumstances forced the Father of Olympus to temper his judgment.

“It’s one thing to meddle in the affairs of mortals, Ares. It’s quite another to steal dangerous weapons from your own kin,” said Zeus, now speaking with more authority. “Mixing the two is a crime that cannot be overlooked, even in these chaotic times.”

“I only took what was rightfully mine in the first place. How is that stealing?” said Ares casually.

“The dagger was forged for you ages ago to win the war against the Titans. That age has long since passed and that is why I decreed time and again that these weapons were to never be used again. Yet you dared to use it against a mortal.”

“He’s hardly a mortal. You’ve seen him, father. His power is nothing to scoff at,” Ares pointed out.

“All the more reason _not_ to tamper with him,” said Zeus strongly. “I can surmise any number of devious ways you would use the power of that dagger against the mortal they call Superman. I’m confident in assuming that few of those ways would have served Olympus.”

“I guess we’ll never know now, will we?” quipped the God of War.

“Which is why you are to remain here until I say otherwise,” said the Father of Olympus. “Consider yourself lucky, Ares. I cannot afford to cast away a fellow god at a time when the growing chaos is becoming more difficult to contain. As much as I detest the notion, I must keep you here in case Olympus is in dire straits.”

“I want to say I’m touched, but I know you’ll find a way to belittle me.”

“You’ve already caused us too many distractions. It was bad enough you stole the Dagger of Deimos. But to give it to a mortal and allow them to lose it will only strain the few resources we can afford to spare. Keep that in mind if and when that chaos consumes Olympus. That burden will be on _your_ shoulders. If you have any sense of honor, you’ll find a way to make up for it. Pray for our sake and yours that it doesn’t come to that. You’ll have _plenty_ of time to do so.”

Zeus disappeared in a flash of sparks, leaving Ares in his cell as it drifted through the void of the vast dungeon. There was nothing but darkness above and the faint fiery glow of the underworld below. There were no wars for him to wage here. It might have been the worst possible punishment the God of War could face. However, the moment Zeus left, Ares grinned mischievously.

Whether he intended to or not, his father revealed that his prayers had already been answered. Every warrior, soldier, and general throughout history understood that battles were going to be lost and wars were going to turn against them. Nobody, god or mortal, ever succeeded in war without planning for the possibility that a battle could be lost. Ares had taken precautions, as he always did whenever his battles flew in the face of his father’s wishes, and Zeus had just confirmed that the next battle had begun.

“You lost the Dagger of Deimos,” said the God of War, shaking his head in bemusement. “Oh father, I expected more from you.”

Ares sat down in his cell and laughed. His father had no idea what was unfolding right under his nose. He was too obsessed with protecting his precious throne to realize it. He thought the chaos in Tartarus was bad. Clearly, he had never worked with the likes of Lex Luthor. Neither Zeus nor any other god on Olympus had any idea that a much bigger war was about to begin. The sad part was that it could have been easily avoided if his father had just listened to him.

_‘I guess this will be easier than I thought. A pity – I was hoping for a challenge. Lex Luthor has the dagger, the ego to wield it fully, and the incentive to abuse its power. He’s essentially fighting all the minor battles for me, allowing me to prepare myself for the coming war. And this time, I’m going to make sure that Diana is the first casualty.’_

* * *

**The Daily Planet –** **Later That Evening**

The moment the battle between Metallo and Superman ended, everyone in the Daily Planet knew they would be working overtime. It happened every time there was a Superman-related story. Perry White made it clear to everyone that they had to be the first ones to break every newsworthy moment involving Superman. It often led to late nights and plenty of frustration, but some had grown used to it.

However, this was no ordinary Superman story, which in and of itself was saying something. This wasn’t another instance of Superman defeating some killer robot or malevolent alien. This wasn’t even another instance of a scandal involving Lexcorp. The big story here was the woman who aided Superman. She had taken over the story, much to the dismay of others.

“What do you mean Lex Luthor isn’t the main story anymore?” exclaimed Lois, pounding her fists upon the conference table with Perry and the rest of the editorial staff.

“Don’t make me repeat myself, Lois. You heard what I said,” said Perry, already on his third cigar.

“I heard it. I just can’t believe you, of all people, have been reduced to following Twitter trends. We have actual evidence that ties Lex Luthor to the Syria incident a year ago and you want to stick that on page eight with Cat’s column on faulty breast implants?”

“Hey! I’m sitting right here, you know?” said Cat Grant, who was as restless as everyone else.

“I’m not saying this isn’t big,” said Perry, trying his best to keep a level tone. “You got what we needed, Lane. You and your boyfriend are going to make Lex Luthor’s life miserable and you should be proud of that. But that’s not the first story people want to know about. They want to know about this woman in the swimsuit with the lasso.”

“So this is what the Planet has been reduced to? Favoring stories that have more T&A over actual news?” said Lois.

“You gotta give the people what they want and they want to know about this woman,” said Jimmy Olson, who had his laptop opened so he could monitor web traffic. “They’re calling her everything from Warrior Gal to Mighty Woman. She’s already got her own fan page on Facebook.”

“And it’s only a matter of time before she has her own porn parodies,” said Cat.

“I’m all for powerful women inspiring feminists and titillating the male demographic, but that doesn’t mean she should be the top headline,” said Lois defiantly. “Besides, it’s not like there aren’t female superheroes out there. What about that woman with the bird wings?”

“Except no female superhero has gone toe-to-toe with killer robot and shown Superman-level strength,” said Cat.

“And no female superhero ever looked that hot in a tiara,” said Jimmy with a goofy grin.

Lois was ready to bang her head against the table. There was no winning this argument. It had gone from a serious news story to a case study in juvenile gossip. Perry was usually good at avoiding this sort of thing, catering to the shallowest possible angle. She had been as shocked as anyone that this woman showed up. She was just as curious about who she was and where she came from. But she had put her life on the line to take down Lex Luthor and now that story was being overshadowed.

Perry put out his cigar and reached for another one. He had known Lois long enough not to argue the merits of news with her. That was an argument that nobody could win. He had also been in the news business long enough to understand when the real story had to take a backseat to something more superficial.

“Let’s not make this about the current state of female superheroes,” began Perry.

“Or lack thereof,” made Jimmy.

“The point is that we have two important news stories here and we’re going to print both. Lois, you have the Luthor story. You’ve got everything you need to make sure that story gets told.”

“But that’s not going to be the headline, is it?” said Lois bitterly.

“It’ll be _part_ of the headline,” said Perry in an authoritative tone, “But we need an angle on this woman and we need something the competition doesn’t have. I guarantee you that every paper, blog, and news channel is going to have a theory and they’re going to pretend their theory actually means something. We need something we _haven’t_ pulled out of our asses.”

“How exactly are we going to do that? It’s not like that woman stuck around for an interview,” said Lois.

“Like it or not, you were still the closest one there, Lane. You’re the only one who can provide us with any insight. And we’re not leaving this room until we have something we can send to the printer.”

Everyone in the conference room groaned, knowing that Lois would continue opposing Perry until he ran out of cigars. She was not going to let this go until she got her way. She was just that stubborn. She also didn’t have what Perry was looking for. She might have been the only one besides Superman to meet up with this woman, but she didn’t get much information from her. If she had, then they would be having an entirely different argument.

The Daily Planet staff settled in for what was sure to be a long evening and knowing Perry, they couldn’t expect much in terms of overtime pay. They had so little to go on and Lois wasn’t going to stop fuming anytime soon so they started to get comfortable. Then, the door to the conference room burst open and Clark Kent came stumbling in with his usual clumsy demeanor.

“Sorry to barge in, Mr. White. But I’ve got a story here that can’t wait,” he said breathlessly.

“Damn it, Kent! Could your timing be any more off?” groaned Perry.

“And where the hell have you been anyways?” asked Lois. “Don’t tell me you’ve spent all day working on fluff pieces to cheer yourself up.”

“This is relevant. And it’s going to cheer everyone up, I promise,” said Clark confidently.

He then placed a draft article in front of Perry and Lois, complete with a picture that immediately caught their attention. It depicted the woman from the battle against Metallo, but it hadn’t been taken from a distance or Photoshopped from video footage of the fight. It looked like she actually posed for the picture, taking an iconic stance not unlike Superman’s. She had a beautiful smile, a strong poise, and a regal demeanor that was worthy of the front page.

As the staff crowded around to look at the picture, Perry looked over the article. He actually dropped his cigar when he read over the first few lines. He quickly realized that he had something special here. This promised to be the biggest story since Superman’s arrival.

“This is an exclusive interview,” said Perry in amazement. “You actually found this woman and got her to talk with you?”

“Yes. We had a very nice discussion,” said Clark proudly.

“Clark…dude, tell me you took more pictures. I _must_ see more of this woman,” said Jimmy as he ogled the picture.

“You and every other guy in Metropolis,” said Cat, who swiped it from him before he could run off with it.

“Wait…you got an exclusive? How the hell did you manage that?” exclaimed Lois.

“Actually, you deserve partial credit for this, Lois. You pointed me in the right direction without knowing it,” said Clark.

“What do you mean?”

“Remember that fluff piece you gave me about that warrior woman from the Red Cross?”

Lois had almost forgotten. She gave Clark that piece because she thought he needed something to keep him busy. She suspected that story involved someone with superhuman abilities, but for it to be the same person who showed up today was just too crazy, even by Metropolis standards.

“Don’t say it. There’s no way you could possibly get _that_ lucky,” said Lois, shaking her head in disbelief.

“Luck had nothing to do with it…until a few hours ago, that is. It turns out there were some pretty astounding connections,” he said, being as subtle with his words as possible. “This woman has been traveling all over the world, being her own warrior on a lot of small battlefields.”

“So what changed? Why now?” asked Perry as he read over more of the article.

Clark couldn’t stop himself from smiling. He already knew more intimate details to this story than would ever be revealed in the article. Diana hadn’t just returned to his life. She had entered his world. And in a world that once felt so lonely, she promised to make it wonderful in so many ways.

“That’s a question she’s not yet ready to answer,” he said, “But she did answer one important question that’s sure to get her story rolling. She’s ready to step onto a much bigger battlefield and she even has a name…Wonder Woman.”

* * *

**Up next: Personal Angles**


	8. Personal Angles

**Strangers In Paradise**   
**Chapter 8: Personal Angles**

* * *

**Clark’s Apartment – Earlier**

Only a few hours ago, Clark Kent had been agonizing over the life decisions he had made that left him feeling so alone. Now, in a stunning twist of fate, his path had crossed with this amazing woman again. All those feelings that he struggled with as a young man who still learning to be Superman had returned. But this time, they didn’t feel so overwhelming.

Shortly after their conversation above the clouds, Superman flew with Diana back across the Metropolis skyline. He was so excited about seeing her again that he completely forgot about the lingering soreness he felt from the battle against Metallo. He led her to his apartment, which was near the top floor of a typical building in the upper west side area. When they landed on his deck, it was still pouring rain. As soon as they were inside, he changed into a pair of dry clothes and got a towel for Diana to dry off. He then made some tea and they sat down on his living room sofa where they just started talking. They had so much to catch up on and unlike before, they didn’t have to worry about hiding from or fighting against anybody.

They stuck to the basics initially, avoiding feelings and emotions that they weren’t ready to confront. Clark told her about the life he created as a mild-mannered reporter who found time to become Superman in between. Diana told him about the life she had created as an aid worker and officer in the Red Cross, traveling the world delivering aid and occasionally playing guardian angel whenever necessary. So much of the lives they had created for themselves began when their paths first crossed. There was no telling how coming together again after six years would change their lives even more.

When Clark encountered Diana six years ago, he had been at a crossroads of sorts and she helped push him down the path towards being a better Superman. But because of the extenuating circumstances under which they parted ways, he didn’t think he would ever see her again. He thought he would never get to thank her for helping him, even when it meant going against her own family. Now the circumstances were completely different.

They didn’t have to be secretive or subtle. They could just be open with one another. For Clark, who was used to hiding his identity from others, it was refreshing.

“You’ve created a great life and a nice home for yourself, Kal,” said Diana as she looked around at his home. “You live a life as an honorable, upstanding mortal man. Yet you find the time to become the embodiment of everything that is good and noble about men. That’s quite an accomplishment.”

“I could say the same for you,” said Clark as he poured her another cup of tea, “A beautiful woman with an aspiring career delivering aid to the needy – that’s an even greater accomplishment, given the circumstances.”

“And it’s an accomplishment I never could have realized had I not met you,” she told him. “For that, I can never thank you enough.”

“I want to say you’re welcome, but I also want to say I’m sorry because it came at a price. Believe me when I say I wish this could have happened without you being exiled from your home.”

“Don’t blame yourself for my mother’s stubbornness. I made the choice to leave. I did what I thought was right.”

“But still – you had to leave your home and come to this crazy world all on your own,” said Clark distantly.

“I won’t say it was easy. I still miss my mother and my sisters, but I have no regrets. “

“I wish I could’ve been there to help you. You know I would have,” said Clark sincerely.

“Of course you would’ve. I never doubted that for a second,” said Diana warmly. “That was another difficult decision I had to make. I needed to learn how to live in man’s world on my own terms. I needed to build a new life and I couldn’t do it at the expense of yours. And besides, seeing you again under such circumstances would have been…awkward.”

They finally reached the topic that they had been avoiding, those powerful feelings that had been left incomplete for the past six years. Diana reached over and grasped his hand, conveying the depths of those feelings and showing that they had not faded with time. It quickly changed the mood, shifting from a friendly catch-up to something far more serious.

“Yeah, you’re probably right about that,” conceded Clark, having to divert his gaze to hide his awkwardness.

“But things are different now,” said Diana. “I’ve had a year to build a new life as Diana Prince. That time has allowed me to become a different kind of warrior. I’ve come to experience the many benefits of man’s world. Things like Krispy Kreme doughnuts, cafe mocha lattes, Monday Night Football, and binge-watching Netflix helped me embrace this world.”

“Well after what you showed the world today, I think it’s ready to embrace you too.”

“And I welcome that opportunity. However, there’s something else I want to embrace first…something that I think we both know we can’t keep avoiding.”

Diana set her tea aside and scooted in closer. No amount of combat or warrior training could have prepared her for this. She had contemplated how this conversation would play out for nearly six years, yet it still felt so daunting. This man didn’t just open a door to a world that she only ever knew from the skewed perspective of Amazon culture. He made her feel things she still didn’t fully understand. She still didn’t feel ready, but she wasn’t about to back down.

“Are you sure you want to deal with this now, Diana?” asked Clark.

“For once, I’m not completely sure. But I don’t want to keep ignoring it,” said Diana. “Kal, you changed my life. You changed the way I see the world. You helped me become a better warrior than I could ever hope to be.”

“And you helped me become a better Superman,” he told her.

“Then I don’t need to convince you that I _felt_ something for you during our brief time together. I don’t claim to know what it is. I don’t even know if I’m equipped to deal with it, coming from a world where our feelings are restricted to sisterhood and combat. But this feeling I have for you is strong and it has only grown as the years go by. And I need to know before anything at all comes of it whether you feel it to.”

“I think it goes without saying, but I’ll say it anyways. I do feel it. And I know how strong it is,” said Clark with little hesitation.

“Then why should we hold back? Why not do something with it when we have the chance we never had in our youth?”

“What exactly would that involve?” he asked nervously.

“Honestly, I don’t know,” said Diana with less certainty than she had ever felt before. “Everything on Themyscira was so established and ordered. We never even had to think about these things. A year is simply not enough time to learn the many subtleties of man’s world.”

“That’s more common than you think. I’ve lived in this world for most of my life and even I haven’t learned everything either.”

“Even so, we can’t let these feelings slip through our hands again. We shouldn’t – not after a day like today. So let’s find a way to embrace these feelings…together.”

As Diana said these words, she gave his hand a firm squeeze, revealing just how much this meant to her. She was now at a loss and so was he. These feelings were so powerful and confusing. It was hard enough dealing with them in their youth. Now, even as adults, they confounded them. But in their desire to embrace them, Clark and Diana found themselves drawn together once more. Their faces drifted closer, the powerful feelings guiding them every step of the way. Everything slowed down, every passing moment becoming more obscured. Then, as lightning flashed from the raging storm outside, their lips met in a soft kiss.

It didn’t happen on a whim. It wasn’t planned or even understood. It just happened, a simple manifestation of all the feelings that they had been dealing with for the past six years. As their lips became entwined, Diana affectionately wrapped her arms around his neck while Clark slipped his hands around her waist. Instinct and affection guided their actions. In these actions, so many feelings they couldn’t put into words were conveyed. However, there was still so much more to say.

It wasn’t clear just how long the kiss lasted, but when their lips finally parted they remained locked in a daze over what just happened. At some point Clark’s brain managed to turn itself on again. He didn’t understand the depths of these feelings any more than Diana, but he knew they were worth exploring. So once his thoughts caught up to his emotions, he came up with an idea.

“Let’s go on a date,” he blurted out with little thought.

“A date? Right now?” said Diana, jarred from her daze.

“Not right now, of course,” laughed Clark. “I meant Friday night, you and me, dinner and a movie…an actual date between two people who want to get to know each other.”

“But we already know each other.”

“True, but there’s only so much you can learn about someone while being stranded on an island for three weeks,” he said with a touch of humor. “Maybe I’m just thinking out loud here, but I think if we’re going to make something of this, we should keep things basic. So let’s go on a date and see if we can actually be together without our lives being in danger.”

“It sounds so appealing, but it also sounds so…”

Diana’s words trailed off as she struggled to articulate her reservations about such a notion. This was another instance where growing up on an island of immortal female warriors put her at a disadvantage. She was aware of the basic courtship rituals in man’s world. She had seen it in plenty of forms over the past year. The Amazons even had rituals of their own with respect to courtship between sisters. However, the idea of participating in a ritual with which she had so little experience felt daunting.

“I know what you mean, but hear me out,” said Clark in a more serious tone. “Knowing each other and being able to save each other from killer robots are two different things. So far we’ve established that we can work together, carry on a conversation, and even share secrets with each other that we don’t share with others. So let’s see how far we can take this.”

“How do we do that?” asked Diana with more intrigue.

“Well I’m not saying one date is going to do the trick, but it will at least give us an idea of where to go from here. Because honestly, I really would like to know if you’re someone I can share my life with. Ever since my parents died, I haven’t been able to share it with anyone. And after what happened to you, I thought I _couldn’t_ share it because being Superman would only ever lead to someone getting hurt.”

“That sounds terribly lonely,” she commented.

“It is, which is why I’ve started questioning that recently. Now I’d like to prove myself wrong. This isn’t just about the life I have as Superman. This is also about the life I’ve built as Clark Kent and the life you’ve built as Diana Prince. I don’t want any of those lives to be mutually exclusive. That includes the new life you just created, being a warrior woman strong enough to take on Metallo.”

“To be fair, I didn’t exactly plan on creating that life when I came to your aid,” said Diana sheepishly.

“Well it’s too late to un-create it and I don’t think you should. You and I are capable of amazing things, Diana. We should use those abilities to do good. And in my experience, part of knowing what is good means building a good life. It gives us something to fight for. It connects us with the people we’re trying to protect. That’s how I know this is the right thing for me. It’s just a matter of finding out whether it’s the right thing for _us_.”

Clark spoke with such excitement in his tone, which helped mask the fact that he hadn’t given this idea much thought. He was operating on a whim, not allowing himself to overthink this for once. He didn’t care that he hadn’t been on a date since his junior prom with Lana Lang. He didn’t care that his and Diana’s circumstances couldn’t be more complicated. This woman had such a profound impact on his life already and he was prepared to explore that impact, even if it meant stepping into unfamiliar territory.

His excitement made it sound so appealing, helping to alleviate some of Diana’s reservations. It seemed like such an innocent request, but it carried with it so many possibilities. Clark wasn’t just suggesting that they get to know each other. He was willing to skip a few steps and see if they could share every aspect of their lives, both as civilians and as beings of great power. It still seemed so daunting. Her mind struggled to process it. However, her heart had already made a decision.

“Okay. Let’s do it. Let’s go on a date!” said Diana, now sharing Clark’s excitement.

“And if at all possible, let’s do it without putting ourselves in a dangerous situation,” added Clark.

“That shouldn’t be too difficult, I hope,” she said jokingly.

“Let’s at least make the effort. That means no costumes and no killer kryptonite-powered robots. I want us to be just an ordinary man and a woman on an ordinary date.”

“Even though we’re most definitely not ordinary?”

“Exactly!” he affirmed.

It was now set in stone. Clark Kent was going on a date with Diana Prince. For once, they weren’t going to fight any battles or hide who they were. They were just going to be themselves and share a night together. They had no idea how such a night would play out. It might only end up triggering a new host of complicated feelings. But as they sat together on the couch in a light embrace, reflecting on all how their paths had crossed once again and the influence they had already had one each other’s lives, it felt like the right thing to do.

Clark was already smiling at the prospect of spending a night with this woman. She looked ready to kiss him again, but he decided to save that for the date. There was still one outstanding issue they had to address. However, this one had little to do with the way Diana had affected his life and everything to do with how she was destined to affect the lives of many others.

“There’s one more thing I think we should address before we focus too much on our date,” said Clark, his tone shifting again.

“What might that be?” asked Diana.

“It involves you, showing up in a tiara and saving Superman from Metallo.”

“And that’s an issue?” she questioned.

“Not at all, but since you did it in front of a global audience, it’s bound to become an issue. From what you’ve told me, you’ve already gone to great lengths to keep your life as Diana Prince separate from your life as a warrior. That might be difficult if people start making assumptions.”

“Yes, that hasn’t been lost on me. I suppose that’s to be expected when you go rushing into a battle without thinking,” said Diana, her demeanor shifting once more.

“That doesn’t mean it can’t be turned into something positive. Part of what helps make me effective as Superman is being accessible to the public. In my experience, if you do the right thing without an explanation, people will always question your motives. So let’s give them a way to embrace you the same way they’ve embraced Superman.”

“And how do you propose I do that?”

This time, the reporter in Clark got excited. It hadn’t been lost on him that Diana showing up in the middle of a battle involving Superman counted as big news. It also hadn’t been lost on him that he had been working on a story from the Red Cross about some mystery woman who happened to show up in war zones. When he began his life as Superman, he did so with the hope that other super-powered beings would follow his example. This certainly qualified and it deserved to be documented.

As he began going over the headlines in his head, he slipped out of Diana’s embrace and retrieved his laptop from the kitchen. He then sat down in the chair across from her, put on his glasses, and prepared to take notes on what was sure to be his biggest story to date.

“In addition to being Superman, I’m also a reporter for the Daily Planet. So let me interview you so you can share your story with the world. Let me help you become a hero every bit as strong and influential as Superman,” said Clark, cracking his knuckles in anticipation.

“That sounds ambitious. But if anyone is going to tell my story, I’d want it to be you,. I know you’ll portray me in a wonderful light,” said Diana, knowing there was no going back on this new life.

“I’ll do my best,” he promised her. “Speaking of which, we’ll need to give you a name to go by that conveys the same message as Superman. And I think I know just the name for a woman as wonderful as you.”

* * *

**London – Present Time**

“Wonder Woman. _That’s_ what they’re calling you?” said Hessia as she held a copy of the Daily Planet that Diana had just given her.

“That’s what it says,” said Diana proudly. “Why? You don’t like it?”

“I think it’s fine. There are far worse names they could call a woman in a tiara. It just…changes things significantly.”

“I say such change was necessary.”

Hessia kept shaking her head in amazement as she read over the article for the third time. It had become global news. There was a powerful new hero in town and this time, it happened to be a warrior woman bearing the strength of Superman and eye-catching attire. The Daily Planet was the first to break the story, making it their front page headline, complete with a picture of Diana posing proudly on a rooftop. She was no longer this mysterious guardian that occasionally showed up in war zones or during a humanitarian crisis. She was part of the growing pantheon of superheroes that was emerging throughout man’s world.

Sitting in her kitchen, drinking her morning coffee as the sun rose over London, Hessia sensed that this was the beginning of a new stage in Diana’s life. She expected as such when she ran off to help Superman in the first place, but she never expected it to manifest like this. She could no longer live a life of quiet exile like so many Amazons before her. She now seemed destined to become something far greater.

“You look concerned, Hessia. You think I made a mistake,” said Diana as she stood across the kitchen table.

“I wouldn’t go that far. It’s never a mistake to aid someone in their time of need. That’s a value everyone in the Red Cross is taught,” said Hessia, “But I do question your willingness to invite such a public spectacle to your life.”

“I won’t claim I had no reservations. But the more I think about it, the more I’m convinced that this is the right thing to do. I’ve already done so much good with my abilities while working for the Red Cross. Now I’ll be able to do good on a much larger scale.”

“Your heart is certainly in the right place, Diana. It always is. I’m just concerned that you’re making many changes in your life that you’re ready for.”

“That concern crossed my mind as well. Then I remembered how often inaction results in even greater difficulties. As Diana, exiled Princess of Themyscira, I can only do so much. The battles I fight are meaningful, but small. So in order to take on the larger battles that affect more people, I need to be something greater.”

“And you think you can do this as Wonder Woman?”

“I’m willing to take that risk and accept the consequences,” said Diana strongly. “This doesn’t mean my work with the Red Cross will end. It just means that I’ll be active on multiple fronts.”

Hessia remained concerned, but understood that Diana had already made up her mind. She was going to go through with this and become Wonder Woman, a full-fledged superhero in this unforgiving world that she had only lived in for a year. It gave her plenty of cause for concern, but there was no undoing this article or the reaction it had generated. The news was abuzz with all things Wonder Woman. There was no telling what this would mean for Diana in the long run, both as an exile and as an Amazon.

“I’ll refrain from listing all the potential problems this could create and say I hope you’re ready for this,” sighed Hessia as she set the paper aside.

“As am I,” said Diana. “I believe I’ve already taken a few important steps. Kal helped me make sure that I didn’t divulge too much. As far as the public knows, there is no connection between Wonder Woman and Diana Prince.”

“Except for the fact you have the first name, have the same build and hair color, and frequently work in dangerous environment,” Hessia pointed out, much to her chagrin.

“We’ve taken precautions. That’s all I’ll say.”

She looked at the exiled princess with a raised eyebrow. By omitting details, she got the impression that this issue wasn’t completely resolved. Diana clearly wanted to continue her work with the Red Cross as a civilian. She did so much good in that role and she wasn’t going to sacrifice it just so she could be Wonder Woman. It was important for her to maintain the life she had built for herself. That life didn’t just keep her connected to man’s world on a personal level. It helped safeguard her for much greater consequences, many of which she wasn’t even aware of.

“That’s a relief because the big wigs in Switzerland still have big plans for Diana Prince. They’re expecting to meet with her on Monday to discuss a new role in the organization.”

“I intend to meet with them and astound them in every way possible,” said Diana confidently, “But before then, I have more immediate concerns.”

“Yes, that’s another issue that has me worried – this date you’re going on.”

“You make it sound more dangerous than anything Wonder Woman is facing. I would think this would worry you the least.”

“And you’d be wrong,” said Hessia. “I’m fairly confident that Wonder Woman can handle whatever foe she ends up facing. But can Diana Prince handle something like this? Something no Amazon has ever trained for?”

“That’s another concern that crossed my mind. Know that I haven’t been making these decisions on a whim,” assured Diana.

“But you’re not as confident about your ability to handle it, are you?”

Diana’s poise finally faltered. Hessia knew her too well. She could see through any false certainty. It was part of what made her so skilled when it came to healing, but it also could be frustrating at times.

Diana set her coffee aside and hugged her shoulders. She kept trying not to think too much about her date, but failed miserably every step of the way. She only had a few days to prepare for it. This man, who had come into her life by accident, was now making an effort to become part of it in a more meaningful way. It would force her to take a completely different approach to her relations with men. So much of what she did came from reacting, letting her heart guide her decisions and actions. This had more purpose behind it. They were going to try and make something of these feelings they shared and part of that worried her.

“I guess I can only manage so much certainty,” sighed Diana. “I never did get around to understanding the concept of dating in man’s world.”

“It’s a concept I’ve tried to avoid throughout my exile. Lucky for you, I didn’t do a very good job of it,” said Hessia with a reassuring smile.

“You’ve been on dates before?” she asked.

“None like the one you’re about to go on, that’s for sure. There are good men in this world and they’re certainly worth getting to know. However, old Amazon attitudes die hard.”

“Well I’m going to need them to die fast if I’m going to make sure they won’t affect me.”

“That would certainly help, but don’t expect it to happen. We’ve been trained from birth to cut ourselves off from the influences of men. That conditioning is not easy to overcome. It is a big reason why I’ve never been able to share my life with a man.”

“But Kal is different,” argued Diana. “We’ve already opened ourselves up to one another in ways that go beyond any Amazon conditioning.”

“I don’t doubt that you have, but don’t think for a second that you’ve opened up as much as you think you have,” said Hessia in a more serious tone. “You’re at somewhat of an advantage because you don’t have to deal with the scars left by men like Hercules, but you’re also at a disadvantage in that you’ve never had to make yourself vulnerable before a man.

“But haven’t I already made myself vulnerable to him?”

“Only to an extent,” she answered. “At some point, you’re going to feel like you’re losing control. It’ll force you to trust this man more than you think you’re capable of trusting anyone. Every instinct you have is not going to like it, but it’s something you’re going to have to deal with if you really want to get close with this man.”

It was enough to make even an Amazon princess feel restless. Hessia used the one word that filled every Amazon with dread - vulnerable. So much of their culture and condition revolved around being the strongest warriors possible, devoid of any weakness or reservation. Diana might have questioned certain aspects of Amazon culture, but she fully understood the importance of never being vulnerable.

She began pacing around the kitchen, those old Amazon attitudes still influencing her in ways she would never admit. Hessia stood up and attempted to consoled her fellow sister. She understood better than Diana why these influences were so difficult to overcome. The first thing Hercules did to her and her fellow Amazons was render them weak and vulnerable. They exploited that vulnerability to the fullest, betraying whatever trust the Amazons had given him and his men. The result was a pain that had few equals, going far beyond the physical atrocities.

But Superman wasn’t Hercules and Diana had never been one to lose focus in overwhelming situations. This didn’t have to be any different. She just had to make sure she was ready to fully embrace this new approach to dealing with men.

“Now I’m not trying to scare you out of this. I don’t want to give the impression that I think this is a mistake,” said Hessia.

“Although you tend to give very poor impressions, Hessia,” commented Diana.

“I’m aware of those flaws and I intend to work around them,” she assured. “Without thinking too distantly into the future, I want this to work for you. I think this is overdue – an Amazon getting close to a man and showing that they can be trusted. We just need to prepare you.”

“You make it sound more daunting than a week in a harpy den.”

“At times, I’m sure it’ll feel that stressful. That’s why I’m going to help you. That means we’re going shopping. We’ll pick you out the perfect dress, make sure you have the perfect hairstyle, and go over all the do’s and don’ts of male/female courtship. By the time we’re done, you’ll leave that man so impressed that he wouldn’t dare avert his gaze for the whole night.”

“The harpy den still sounds less daunting, but I’m liking the idea of finding new ways to get Kal’s attention,” said Diana.

She sounded confident again. Daunting it may be, this didn’t mean they couldn’t have a little fun with it. One thing Hessia noticed about man’s world is that it had a wide variety of ways to deal with stressful situations. Diana remained as determined as ever, ready to treat this like a battle plan for a full scale invasion of Hades. They had a few days to prepare so they had to make the most of them. However, that also meant they had plenty of time to address some of the more uncomfortable details associated with dating in man’s world.

“In that case, we’ll get started this afternoon,” said Hessia in an encouraging tone, “But before we get into the major emotional issues associated with dating in man’s world, there’s one more practical issue we should probably get out of the way first.”

“And what might that be?” asked Diana nervously.

“It has to do with a little something man’s world tactfully called _protection_. But trust me – it doesn’t mean what you think.”

* * *

**Metropolis – Daily Planet**

Clark was usually not one to bask in the success he achieved, regardless if came from being a reporter or being Superman. But this was one occasion where he took extra satisfaction in a story. It felt fitting that he was the one who introduced Wonder Woman into the world. In a sense, he helped create her by inspiring Diana. She was walking proof that Superman could inspire others to do good. On top of that, he was going on a date with her. It was a far greater bonus than he was used to.

He walked around the office of the Daily Planet with a slight smirk on his face the whole day. Everywhere he went, his colleagues and co-workers congratulated him. The TV mounted on the wall next to his desk spent most of the day covering the new intrigue surrounding Wonder Woman. Overall, the effects were positive. Every report told a similar story. The public was ready to embrace this new hero.

_“It’s official. There’s another new hero in town in the mix and this one wears heeled boots and a tiara,”_ said a female reporter in one of the news reports on TV. “ _The footage of Wonder Woman’s battle against Metallo is going viral, already trumping the previous record held by Superman’s battle against Brainiac. The Daily Planet reports that Wonder Woman is from a race of warrior women who choose to remain secluded for centuries. She decided to buck that trend and many are glad that she has. As the intrigue surrounding her grows, opinions of her remain high.”_

The report then shifted to highlighting public sentiment. Clark remembered going through this process as well when he first became Superman. It had been a difficult process because superheroes were still new and unknown. Now people were getting used to the idea and that would help Wonder Woman become the hero she wanted to be. It also didn’t hurt that she was beautiful.

_“I think it’s great. Finally, we ladies have a hero we can look up to and say you go girl!”_ said a young woman in one of the news reports on TV.

_“While I don’t approve of her attire, I do approve of her ability to prove that a woman can be every bit as powerful as Superman,”_ said an older woman from the same report.

_“Dude, she’s hot and she’s super strong. I’m already in love with her!”_ said a young man.

This same sentiment prevailed on the internet. Clark had been tracking the web traffic and comments on the Daily Planet’s website all morning. Most people across most walks of life supported Wonder Woman. Many saw her as the female equivalent to Superman. It was ironic because Superman had been responsible for Diana taking on this role, but he kept those details to himself.

However, there were some critics, as he had expected. There had been plenty of critics of Superman as well when he first emerged. But the criticisms of Wonder Woman took on a more unique.

_“I think it’s disgraceful. What kind of woman thinks she can be a hero while dressing like a harlot?”_ scoffed an older woman from the same news report.

_“I honestly don’t care. She’s just another one of these super-powered freaks that’s making this world more dangerous,”_ said an apathetic older man.

Clark chose to tune them out. He learned long ago that people were going to have these sorts of opinions. There was no way to change them. Diana had thick skin, in more ways than one. He wasn’t worried about her handling criticism. He had enough to worry about over the prospect of dating her.

As he watched the report from his desk, Clark felt a pair of critical eyes on him. He didn’t even need to divert his gaze. There was still one person at the Daily Planet who didn’t share in the enthusiasm surrounding Wonder Woman and it was only a matter of time before she made her sentiment known.

“I know you’re there, Lois. Quit scolding me and say what you need to say,” said Clark as he casually sat back in his hair.

“You look _way_ too smug for a humble farm boy. I’m starting to think you’ve been biding your time, waiting for a moment when you can pretend like you’re the prize pig at a fair,” said Lois with folded arms as she leaned over his desk.

“Are you saying I shouldn’t take satisfaction in my work?”

“It’s a little late for that so I’m not going to bust your chops for it. Besides, that’s not why I’m scolding you,” she said.

“Then tell me the real reason. It’s not like I’m taking full credit here. I listed you as a contributor and gave you all the credit you deserved on this story, Lois.”

“This isn’t about credit. This is about the story you aren’t telling – the one you’ve been hiding that nobody seems to care about because they’re too enamored by all things Wonder Woman.”

“Now you’re giving the impression that I have some sort of agenda.”

“Quit playing dumb, Clark,” said Lois. “You’re not as good at it as you think and I’ve known you long enough to see all those little subtleties you think no one notices.”

His overly satisfied demeanor faded. He was now actually concerned about what Lois saw. She always seemed to pick up on things that nobody else could. It was part of what made her a great reporter. On more than one occasion, she saw something in him that he didn’t realize himself. So far she hadn’t picked up on enough to link Clark Kent to Superman, but she did often notice things he either overlooked or ignored. It often put him in a difficult position because Lois often revealed to him more than she intended.

“I can accept that you dug a little deeper into the Red Cross story, found a few connections, and caught up with Wonder Woman just in time for her big debut. For all I know, she has a thing for mid-western farm boys and is incredibly shallow about it,” Lois went on.

“I’m not sure if that’s supposed to be a compliment, but I’ll take it anyways,” said Clark.

“Now here’s what bothers me – in that chain of events that led you to this story, there appears to be a few links missing.”

“I didn’t hide anything a good reporter can’t afford to hide, Lois,” he assured her. “You’re the one who showed me the first week I was here.”

“And I believe you when you say that, Clark. But I also know how you work a story. You meet people, you befriend them, and you earn their trust in the most honest way possible. While this sort of thing would get you eaten alive in most media professions, you make it work for you and you’re annoyingly competent with it. But something about this story made you change that approach. You had to go a few steps further to get to someone like Wonder Woman.”

She then sat on his desk and gazed at him with a level of scrutiny that she usually reserved for the Lex Luthors of the world. It was a gaze that didn’t usually work on Clark Kent because he was always so careful and honest. This time was different. Lois sensed there was another story here. It might not be worthy of the front page, but it still intrigued her.

“So what is it? What did you redact from your notes before turning them over to Perry?” asked Lois.

“I honestly don’t know what you’re talking about, Lois,” said Clark incredulously.

“I think you know what I’m talking about. You’re just not letting it cross your mind.”

“I think you think you know because you want a better reason for the Wonder Woman story to be higher on the front page than the Lex Luthor story,” he retorted.

“Don’t turn this around on me, Smallville. I know the T&A usually trumps the hard news. It pisses me off, but it doesn’t concern me as much as this.”

“I’m still not sure what _this_ is referring to.”

“Then let me rephrase my question in a way that should get my point across,” she said, now leaning in so he couldn’t easily ignore her. “If you won’t tell me _what_ you kept out of the story, then why don’t you tell me _who_ it is that wants you to keep it out?”

This time, Clark couldn’t stop himself from reacting. He shifted in his seat and opened his mouth to respond, but nothing came out. It was Lois Lane’s most effective tactic. She didn’t always get the answers she wanted, but she knew she could get a clue by asking the right questions and getting the right response. He had been able to avoid it for years to keep his identity as Superman secret, but he couldn’t avoid it this time.

His silence helped Lois make a connection that he wasn’t ready to explain. She soon had that smirk on her face that she often got whenever she was onto something. Clark had to tread very carefully now. He couldn’t afford to reveal too much about Wonder Woman, Diana Prince, or the connection she had with Clark Kent and Superman.

“I see. So it’s one of _those_ stories,” said Lois knowingly.

“And which story is that?” said Clark, his uncomfortable tone doing little to dissuade her.

“It’s the cardinal sin of reporting – becoming emotionally entangled with a story. You’re the last one I thought would ever be guilty of it, but I guess even boy scouts slip up. So what’s her name?”

“Lois, I think you’re starting to make too many assumptions here.”

“And the fact you haven’t even denied them yet is a pretty strong clue that they’re not entirely wrong,” she retorted. “Now are you going to tell me or not? Clark Kent’s personal life might not make it on the front page for most people, but I happen to be your best friend. And if there’s a story here that you can’t even share with your best friend, then that has me worried.”

Now things were getting tense. Lois could sense Diana’s influence on him. Perhaps he should have been more tactful, but it was too late now. She knew something was up and unlike Perry, she was willing to probe for the details.

Some of it felt like genuine concern. Just yesterday, he was in a pretty messed up state after learning about her moving in with Jonathan. The next day, he has this unexpected triumph and enjoys it a bit too much. Even though he avoided becoming emotionally involved with her, Lois still cared about him. At some point, his personal life was going to get her attention. It was just happening a lot sooner than he had hoped.

But as he struggled to surmise a response that Lois would accept, Perry came walking by his desk and approached Lois.

“There you are, Lane. I need you in my office five minutes ago. Something just came up and we need to talk about it,” he told her.

“Can it wait?” groaned Lois.

“It involves Lex freakin’ Luthor so no. It can’t. My office…right now…no excuses,” he said sternly. “Let Kent finish his victory lap and get back to work.”

Clark breathed a sigh of relief. Perry couldn’t have picked a better time to be in another one of his moods. Lois clearly wanted to stick around and get a straight answer from him, but Perry was the one that signed her paychecks. Shaking her head in defeat, she got off his desk and followed Perry.

“We’re going to finish this conversation at some point, Clark. You can count on it,” she said to him.

“I’m sure it’ll be a very pleasant discussion, Lois,” said Clark in bemusement.

As Lois caught up with Perry, Clark caught his breath and turned his attention back to his computer screen. He was still getting emails about the Wonder Woman story. Everyone else was praising him while Lois Lane remained unsatisfied. At some point, he was going to have to give her at least part of the story. It wouldn’t be fair to shut her out completely. She was his best friend. He trusted her more than anyone he had met since his parents died. He just had to figure out a way to make it work.

_‘Saved by Perry White’s impatience – can’t remember when I’ve ever been able to say that. I owe him one, but I doubt I’ll ever get that lucky again. Lois is right. She’s more right than she thinks. At some point, I need to tell her at least some of the truth. She has been too good a friend to me. But first, I need to make sure the truth is something I’ll be happy to share. That means making sure my date with Diana this Friday goes perfectly.’_

* * *

**Daily Planet - Perry White’s Office**

Lois had to set her frustration aside about Clark and the Wonder Woman story as soon as she entered Perry’s office. Since he singled her out and didn’t call a staff meeting, this usually meant that there was another story unfolding that hadn’t become news yet. Since it involved Lex Luthor, Lois braced herself for more frustration.

As soon as Perry sat down at his desk, he turned off the TV besides his desk that had been broadcasting the news. He then retrieved a sheets of paper from his printer and a bottle of aspirin from the top drawer in his desk. When he looked over the papers, he shook his head restlessly. Some stories just never went away.

“First things first, Lois,” he began. “I don’t know why you were looking at Kent the same way my dog looks at a wounded raccoon, but it better be something you can sweep under the rug. I can’t have my best reporter being petty with a colleague just because he broke the Wonder Woman story.”

“I’m not as petty as you think, Perry. But I’ll skip the part where I explain myself if you give me a good reason to shut up and listen,” replied Lois.

“Well I think this qualifies because when you read this, you’re going to need to be more vindictive than usual.”

He handed her the sheets of paper for her to look over. After scanning the first page, Lois quickly adopted Perry’s restless demeanor. She expected anything involving Lex Luthor to be upsetting, but that man always found a way to make her hate him even more. This short report, which had the word confidential written at the top of every page, detailed some sort of major law enforcement operation by the feds. Near as she could tell, only a few sets of eyes had seen this. That might be a good thing because she imagined she wouldn’t be the only one upset by this.

“Where did you get this and when did it come in?” asked Lois as she flipped through the pages.

“It came in via fax five minutes ago and since hardly anybody uses fax machines anymore, I knew it was serious,” answered Perry. “Wonder Woman may have grabbed all the headlines, but your article about Luthor and Syria didn’t go unnoticed.”

“I want to take comfort in that, but everything I’m reading here is making that very difficult.”

“Then you might want to put it down and save yourself the trouble because it’s exactly what you think it is. It’s confirmation that Lex Luthor will not be dragged off in handcuffs anytime soon. But this time, it’s not for a lack of trying. Less than two hours after your story broke, the FBI and the ATF surrounded Lexcorp and attempted to arrest him. But by the time they showed up, Luthor was already over international waters in his private jet.”

“I want to be shocked and outraged. I really do. But I’m used to Luthor getting away with this. I’m so used to it that it makes me sick to my stomach,” sighed Lois as she casually tossed the papers aside.

“You’re in good company, Lois. Trust me,” said Perry. “He probably had a plane ready and fueled up before he even turned Metallo loose. The Feds say they’re cooperating with the CIA and Interpol in an effort to track him down, but you and I both know that won’t work. Luthor has too resources and too many friends in high places.”

“You’re telling me things I already know. I hope you didn’t call me into your office just to remind me how annoyingly cunning Lex Luthor can be.”

“I wish I was that foolish, but there’s another development that caught my attention and not for the reason you might think. Luthor might be on the run, but he’s not the kind of guy to go into hiding. We can still chase him down and I think we have something to go on.”

Lois grew more curious. This wasn’t the first time Lex had been in trouble with the authorities. There had been a couple of occasions where he had been subject to heavy scrutiny, often as a result of stories that the Daily Planet broke on his operations. He often followed a similar pattern, staying on the move while his overpaid lawyers sheltered him. He had been getting more ambitious lately. Hopefully, that meant he was on the brink of screwing up.

“You’re about to start me on a project you know I’m not going to enjoy, aren’t you?” said Lois.

“Are you going to storm out of my office before I get you too interested?” asked Perry.

“Only if this _something_ you mentioned is really that interesting,” she replied.

Perry smirked, knowing Lois couldn’t turn away from an interesting story. He then turned his computer monitor around so that it faced her, revealing that he had been tracking flight data since he got the fax.

“Take a look at this and think back to all the other times Luthor evaded the law,” said Perry. “When he knows he has to be in another jurisdiction in another hemisphere, he sets up shop in a handful of Lexcorp subsidiaries. Conveniently, they’re all located in places like China, Switzerland, and a handful of Middle Eastern countries that don’t enforce their extradition laws very well.”

“But those are just the subsidiaries that we know about,” Lois pointed out. “I’m sure she has others in places that are extremely well-hidden.”

“I don’t doubt that for a second. But if we assume Luthor is as smart as he claims, then we also have to assume those hide-outs are in places that are inaccessible by tourists, law enforcement, and overzealous reporters.”

“That makes sense, even if I’d rather assume he’s only half as smart as he thinks he is.”

“So then why – if he’s so smart – is his private jet flying to Greece?” asked Perry.

It didn’t come off as a hard question at first, but Lois found it difficult to answer as she looked at the computer screen. Perry had it focusing on the middle of the Atlantic. Luthor’s jet was marked with a large red X to single it out amongst dozens of other jets in mid-flight. Its path was already confirmed as heading towards Greece. Another data window showed a confirmed flight path, most likely another little tidbit that Perry’s old source provided. It could have meant nothing, but Perry didn’t believe that and neither did she.

Lex Luthor didn’t just run for the sake of getting away. He always had a plan and a backup plan to that plan and a backup plan to that backup plan. It was part of what made him so frustrating to track down. The confession by Metallo was the most damning revelation he had ever encountered. He had to have a hell of a plan to deal with it and part of that plan had to involve flying under the radar. Something about this didn’t add up and that didn’t sit well with either of them.

“Well I want to say he’s shopping for private islands, but he’s too cheap when it comes to real estate,” said Lois.

“It’s also worth noting that Lexcorp has no subsidiaries or business interests in Greece. He pulled out four years ago when the government tried to levy heavier taxes on multinational corporations,” added Perry.

“Like I said, he’s cheap.”

“So then why is he going there? He’s not going on vacation, that’s for damn sure. He knows he’s on the run and that his company is going to take a huge hit. So that means there must be something of interest to him in Greece that nobody knows about yet.”

“And you want me to find out what it is?” surmised Lois.

“Don’t tell me you’re not curious,” he retorted. “Even if it isn’t front page material, how badly do you want to kick him when he’s down?”

Lois chuckled to herself and shook her head. Perry knew her too well. She was always looking for the next big story, but every now and then she pursued other, more personal stories. Lex Luthor used her as bait to try and kill Superman. It was the latest in a long list of reasons for her to despise him. She helped send him on the run by capturing Metallo’s confession. Now she had a chance to chase him down again and finish the job.

“I’ll start digging. I’ll let you know when I hit pay dirt,” said Lois as she got up and left his office.

“Even when you do, keep on digging,” said Perry. “If he’s going to stay on the run, he’s going to need friends in some _very_ high places.”

* * *

**Olympus – The Oblivion Dungeon**

The void that existed between Olympus, Earth, and Hades was a vast and desolate abyss. In every direction, there was nothing but darkness. It was so dark and so quiet that mortals and gods alike were often driven mad by such desolation. The only way to stay sane was to keep the mind occupied and unfocused on the utter oblivion surrounding it.

In some ways, this was the best punishment Ares could have hoped for. He knew better than most that his father was capable of much greater cruelty. Being isolated in this vast sea of nothingness gave the God of War plenty of peace and quiet to plan his next battle. For hours on end, he would meditate in his confined cell, simulating every detail of every possible outcome. Zeus thought that he could no longer wage war while confined to this cell. He probably planned to keep him here until he encountered a battle he could not win. He had every intention of proving his father wrong. While he could not fight any battles at the moment, he could still put the right pieces in place.

As he sat motionless in his cell, Ares finally opened his eyes when he sensed a presence trying to contact him. It wasn’t physical. Only Zeus, Hades, and Poseidon could access these dungeons. But that didn’t mean that communication was impossible. While his godly power was greatly limited within this realm, he could still utilize enough energy to open a small vision portal. He could only create one the size of his hand, but it was enough to figure out who was calling him.

“Hello Apollo. It’s about time you called,” said Ares.

_“Nice to see you too, brother. You’re looking well,”_ said Apollo through the vision portal, not bothering to hide his smug undertone.

“Considering my circumstances, that would be a very poor choice of words on your part,” scolded the God of War. “Your actions had better make up for it.”

_“Oh dear brother, your utter lack of faith wounds me. Do you really believe I’ve forgotten my part just so I could revel in your failure?”_

“I can’t think of anyone on Olympus who would be surprised in the slightest if you did.”

_“Well I’m sorry to disappoint, but I actually did complete the contingency plan you outlined. It turns out that you were right. The mortal, Lex Luthor, is as smart and as foolish as you hoped him to be.”_

Apollo may have been an annoying in ways only possible for a god, but Ares could count on him to carry out a task whenever it served his interests. He didn’t have as much to lose, but he had plenty to gain and Ares could always count on his greed and lust for power to win out over his more annoying proclivities.

_“As I speak, he is on his way to a private airstrip in northern Greece,”_ he continued. _“He is still in possession of the Dagger of Deimos. And wouldn’t you know it? Father tasked me with retrieving it.”_

“Father couldn’t possibly be that incompetent. He would sooner trust me with such a task,” scoffed Ares.

_“Well I may have my services voluntarily in exchange for some overdue leniency,”_ said Apollo wryly. _“Father still hasn’t forgiven me for that unfortunate incident with Vesuvius. He thinks I’m making a pitiful attempt to regain his good graces.”_

“And you’re not?”

_“Oh please, I haven’t cared for father’s graces in ages. I just like to make him think I care. It ensures he’ll continue underestimating me, which will be necessary if I’m to carry out my next task.”_

“Can I assume you’ll be sufficiently discrete and cunning in completing it?” said Ares.

_“That won’t be as difficult as you think. Father remains hopelessly preoccupied with the escalating chaos in Tartarus. It would take another war with the Titans to make him pay attention to the affairs of mortals.”_

Apollo made it seem so easy and that didn’t sit well with Ares. Great wars were never won with such ease. He expected Zeus to remain distracted. He even expected Apollo to succeed in his attempts to manipulate their father’s decisions. However, he couldn’t assume that Zeus would be easily outwitted. He needed to make sure that the Father of Olympus would be unable to oppose him. He might not be able to outmatch his father in terms of power, but there were other ways to subdue a god.

“Then it would seem you’ll have plenty of time on your end. Be sure to use it wisely,” said Ares.

_“I’ll be careful not to push my luck. You don’t need to belabor the importance of ensuring Lex Luthor’s success,”_ said Apollo dryly.

“That’s still going to take patience on your part, which I know isn’t one of your virtues. And since you tend to get bored easily, I’ve come up with another task that should keep you entertained.”

_“Oh I’m definitely interested,”_ said Apollo. _“It’s not like manipulating a mortal is a challenge for me.”_

“Well this involves a bolder form of manipulation. Father has shown that he will act swiftly the moment he senses his fellow gods stepping out of line. So when the next battle begins, we must make sure that he is engrossed in another.”

_“Always the tactician, aren’t you?”_ said Apollo dryly, _“And how, pray tell, do you intend to ensure that our dear father is caught up in such a battle?”_

“By manipulating his beloved Amazons, that’s how,” said Ares, unable to hide his hatred upon their mention.

He could see Apollo grinning widely through the vision portal. Ares didn’t expect that his fellow god would need much convincing. He would readily jump at the opportunity to outwit Zeus’ beloved army of wenches, if only to undermine his power. But for Ares, this was much more personal.

This whole war began because of the Amazons. He came to his father seeking to enlist Diana as an apprentice. He believed he could create the ultimate avatar of war, capable of winning battles on Earth and Olympus. But his father just had to be difficult. He cared more about the ignorant warriors who worshipped him than he did his own children. The Father of Olympus needed to pay a price for his many sins and the coming war would show that even a god was not above justice.

_“Ooh, now I’m very interested,”_ said Apollo. _“What did you have in mind?”_

“Listen closely and be prepared to follow my instructions carefully,” said Ares strongly. “This is going to involve laying a few very important clues for the Amazons to follow. If you do it right, they’ll play right into our hands when the time comes.”

* * *

**Northern Greece – Private Airstrip**

“We’re on our final approach, Mr. Luthor. We’ve just received clearance from the local Greek authorities,” announced the pilot of Lex Luthor’s private jet.

“And exactly how far will that clearance take us?” asked Lex from opulent passenger quarters.

“For what you paid for it – far enough,” the pilot answered. “As far as everyone not on the payroll is concerned, you’re just a nameless businessman on an extended vacation.”

It was the best news he could have hoped for. Lex Luthor was now a wanted fugitive for his involvement in the Syria debacle a year ago. No fewer than a dozen governments and several international organizations wanted to put him on trial. The hit his company took couldn’t be understated. The amount of money that he and his shareholders had lost was painful. Yet he still managed to escape with relative ease and he had more than enough resources to remain free for as long as he needed. However, he did not feel a sense of relief. He didn’t even feel all that frustrated. Right now, he only felt a burning hunger to strike back against Superman and this Wonder Woman.

As his private jet touched down on a poorly paved runway, Lex opened the silver briefcase he had handcuffed to his wrist since before he took off. Inside was the Dagger of Deimos that Ares told him would kill Superman. He never got a chance to see if the God of War had been telling the truth, but he suspected there was at least something to his bold claims. There was more power in this dagger than Ares had revealed and Lex didn’t doubt for a second that this renegade god had omitted certain details about this relic.

With the utmost care, Lex grasped the dagger by the handle and held it up. The weapon had fallen silent since Metallo’s battle against Superman. Any lesser mind would have mistaken it for an unimportant artifact that probably belonged in a museum or some rich man’s private collection. Ares probably thought that no ordinary mortal could possibly ascertain its power. Unfortunately for Ares, he was no ordinary mortal.

_‘He probably thinks I’m doing his bidding. He might even think I’m so desperate at this point that I don’t have a choice but to seek the aid of a god. He forgets that only the foolish and the insecure pray to gods to solve their problems.’_

In scrutinizing the dagger, he noticed something that Ares probably overlooked. During Metallo’s battle against Superman, he managed to lightly graze the Man of Steel a few times. It didn’t cause any major wounds, but it still did something that none of his previous battles had ever done before. It made him bleed. This alien that carried himself as a god actually could bleed. Lex could still see the specks of Superman’s blood staining the edge of the dagger. This blood and the information contained within it promised to be more powerful than any god.

_‘There can be no room for gods when it comes to mankind’s ultimate destiny. No god will deliver us. No alien will save us. Mankind must save themselves. It only takes a special breed of man to lead them to that destiny. It’s time that I become that man.’_

Lex carefully placed the dagger back into the metal case and sealed it. He could not let this relic out of his site for the foreseeable future. It was the key to becoming the man who was destined to best both gods and aliens. However, getting to that destiny wouldn’t be easy.

After the jet came to a stop, Mercy Graves entered the passenger area from the rear of the jet. She had been on the phone for the past hour or so organizing the next step in this endeavor. At this point, Lex Luthor had little reason to believe that anything was out of order.

“What’s our status, Mercy?” asked Luthor as he locked the case.

“We’re on schedule, Mr. Luthor. Your transportation has arrived. It’ll take you to the secure location you’ve set up near the excavation site,” answered Mercy.

“As the facility been retrofitted to my specifications?” asked Luthor as he got up and fixed his suit.

“It took more bribes than we expected, but they were able to install the lead shielding you requested. Superman will not be able to eavesdrop on you anytime soon.”

“I’m still going to work under the assumption that he’s looking for an opportunity to throw me in front of a world court. But he’s not going to break any laws or persuade any of the Greek officials I’ve paid handsomely to keep their mouths shut and their hands up. That means we can’t afford to slip up.”

After fixing his tie and making sure the metal case was secure, he followed Mercy to the side-hatch of the jet. It opened to reveal a cloudy sky and rugged terrain. This part of Northern Greece wasn’t used to receiving visitors. That made it a fitting place to hide, but it also had a reputation for being seismically active so few bothered. This would only further work into Luthor’s favor because he needed to carry out this plan in isolation. In his experience, too many allies meant too many vulnerabilities. For this operation, only one ally mattered.

“Is my associate here and ready to begin?” asked Luthor.

“He’s waiting in the convoy. I’ll let him answer the rest of your questions,” said Mercy flatly.

Lex continued to follow Mercy down the steps of the jet, passing by a few bodyguards he had poached from local militias. They surrounded a convoy that included four black SUVs and a couple of motorcycle escorts. Mercy led him to the one in the middle and opened the rear passenger door, allowing him to climb in. Inside, a middle-aged man in an all-black suit with jet-black hair and overpriced sunglasses was waiting for him. Once Lex was secure, Mercy got into the driver’s seat and got the convoy moving.

“You’re quite punctual for a man wanted by at least a dozen countries,” said the man.

“Is that going to be a problem?” asked Lex.

“Not in the slightest,” he assured, “But where are my manners? My name is Alfonso Disole. I believe you’re familiar with one of my associates. I understand he took an unexpected leave of absence.”

“No need to be vague, Mr. Disole. I know that’s not your real name and I know you’re probably as _charismatic_ as your associate. And if it’s all the same to you, I would rather not know you any more than I have to,” said Luthor.

“I understand. An enterprise such as this works best on a strictly impersonal basis. You have your part to play and I have mine. That is why I’ve made the necessary arrangements at the coordinates you requested. It’ll take some time to enlist workers, import equipment, and conduct a survey. This is an operation that will span a few months at the very least. But if you’re confident in your claim, I’ll be happy to provide you the necessary means.”

“I’m more than confident. I’m certain,” said Luthor, keeping his eye on the metal case. “Your previous associate left one too many clues for me to follow. I was able to confirm my theory during my flight.”

“I won’t dare question your methods provided you deliver as promised,” said Mr. Disole.

“Oh I’ll deliver,” said Lex as he clutched the case firmly. “I’ll deliver more than you can possibly imagine.”

The darkly dressed man only smiled, offering no further questions or criticism. As far as he was concerned, he was just a facilitator to whatever Lex Luthor had planned. He didn’t need to know the details. He only needed to be certain of the results.

As the convoy pulled out of the private airstrip, Alfonso Disole adjusted his sunglasses and looked at his reflection in the window. For a brief moment, his reflection faded to reveal his true form. It was degrading for any god, taking the form of an immortal. Apollo hadn’t done so in years. Deceiving humans lost its entertainment value centuries ago, but this human promised to change that. If it meant carrying himself as this pathetic mortal, then he was willing to endure.

_‘He’s even more egotistical than Ares described. I miss the days when humans were gullible enough to pray to statues and rocks. I hope I won’t have to maintain this pathetic form for too long. Father doesn’t tolerate consorting with mortals as much as he used to. But if Luthor finds what I think he’ll find, Father will have much more pressing concerns. And that’s not counting how screwed he’s going to be once he finds out what I did with his precious Amazons.’_

* * *

**Up next: Just Another Date**


	9. Just Another Date

**Strangers In Paradise**   
**Chapter 9: Just Another Date**

* * *

**Clark’s Apartment**

When Clark decided to become Superman, he conditioned himself to be ready for anything. He learned everything he learned from his adopted parents and his Kryptonian heritage to prepare himself for the mental and physical challenges that awaited him. However, no amount of conditioning or preparation could prepare him for this.

He was going on a date with the most amazing woman he had ever met. Not only was she undeniably beautiful, but she also happened to be an actual princess from an island of immortal warriors. This was not some blind date or some woman he met at a bar. Diana had already had a profound impact on his life. He only knew her for three weeks when their paths first crossed, but those three weeks gave her plenty of time to find a place in his heart. Now he had a chance to really open up to her and see if Diana could be more than some girl he met in his youth.

Standing in front of the mirror in his bathroom, Clark had gone through nearly every dress shirt in his wardrobe. He usually didn’t put so much scrutiny into his appearance. He really couldn’t because for so long, his goal had been to not stand out in a crowd. But he wanted to stand out to this woman. He wanted to make an impression. Being Superman just wasn’t enough. He had to show Diana that Clark Kent was just as interesting. Still in just a towel, he threw aside another shirt that happened to have a coffee stain on it. As he grabbed another, he came to a striking realization.

“You are so unprepared for this,” Clark said to his reflection. “You had a couple days to prepare and you still couldn’t do it. You’re Superman, for crying out loud! You have no excuses.”

After berating himself, he looked back into his room to see that it was almost time. Diana would be here any moment and he still couldn’t decide on a shirt. With more urgency, he ran back to his closet and sifted through everything he had left with super speed. He had to find some way of making himself presentable and if he couldn’t accomplish this, then he had no right to call himself Superman.

As he searched, Clark thought back to his limited dating experience from growing up in Smallville. He didn’t really date much back in high school. The only woman he ever went out with was Lana Lang. They both sensed before they even graduated that their lives were going in very different directions, but that didn’t stop his Jonathan Kent from offering a little advice on love.

_“It’s going to be overwhelming. It’s going to be confusing. Heck, it won’t even make sense at times. Love is one of those things that’ll never make sense, but trust me – you know it when you feel it. The key is finding out whether you can share these feelings with that special someone.”_

Clark thought he would never need that advice after he decided he could not become emotionally involved with others. Once again, his father’s wisdom trumped the power of Superman. It was sobering as he stopped for a moment to catch his breath. This was one instance where he needed to be more man than Superman.

_‘You always knew the right thing to say, Pa. No matter how difficult I made it for you and Ma, you told me what I needed to hear, even when I didn’t understand it. What I wouldn’t give to talk to you now.’_

Now standing just outside his closet, Clark stopped using his powers and looked at the mess he had made. Nearly every shirt he had lay strewn over the floor and bed. If his father were here, he would be laughing hysterically at the way he was handling himself. Jonathan Kent always knew how to maintain perspective. That was something even Superman struggled with every now and then.

Eventually, Clark calmed down enough to go through a few more shirts. He finally came across a nice navy blue dress shirt that he hadn’t worn yet. It wasn’t too fancy or flashy, but it wasn’t overly plain either. So rather than agonize over what it lacked, he decided to go with it. Without using his super speed, he put it on along with a matching pair of slacks. He didn’t put on a tie or use any fancy cufflinks. He didn’t even wear his best dress shoes. When he looked at himself in the mirror again, he regained his perspective.

_‘I can already hear you saying it, Pa. At this point, you and Ma would have sat me down and told me to stop trying to be more than the man I already am. Let that be the man I show this woman. Let that be the man she falls in love with. I’ve just spent so much time and energy these past few years, trying to be something greater. At times, that makes it hard to see myself as an ordinary man because I’m not ordinary. But maybe…maybe I need to be that man in order to be with this woman. And maybe I need to be that man in order to be a better Superman.’_

It felt like he was getting ahead of himself, but part of being Superman meant staying a step ahead of himself at times. This time, however, Clark Kent was the one who had to keep up. It was a daunting prospect, but Diana was worth it.

His time finally ran out when he heard a knock on his apartment door. He checked the clock. Diana was right on time. Clark took one last look at his reflection before turning to a picture of him and his parents that he kept on his dresser.

“Wish me luck,” he said to them. “I promise I’ll be the gentleman you raised me to be.”

Clark used his super speed once more, cleaning up his bathroom and putting away his shirts within the span of a few seconds. He then made his way to the front door and took a deep breath. He could no longer focus on how he looked or how ill-prepared he was. His only focus on this point was showing Diana a good time. With this in mind, he opened the door to greet his date.

“Hello, Kal. You look very handsome,” greeted Diana with a smile worthy of royalty.

“Uh…hi,” was all Clark got out in response.

And just like that, his focus was shattered. Standing before him was a sight that would have left anyone, man or Superman, utterly paralyzed. Diana had somehow found a way to make herself even more beautiful.

“You look…wow. I just…wow,” he said as he struggled to put into words what he was seeing.

“Are men supposed to sound this foolish at the beginning of a date?” she teased.

“They’re not supposed to. But in the presence of a beautiful woman – well, it’s to be expected,” said Clark, trying to regain his composure.

“Then I’ll consider it a good sign of things to come.”

It was easy for both of them to be encouraged. Clark could only smile and try not to appear too goofy as he admired Diana’s stunning form. She wore a light purple dress that wasn’t too short, but did plenty to show off her legs. It also hung low enough to augment her already ample cleavage while fitting her toned hourglass form to perfection. Beyond the dress, she had styled her hair so that it had an elegant, wavy flow. Every feature of her face and skin had been neatly tended to, giving her the look that was truly divine.

What made it even more remarkable was that Diana didn’t wear a lot of makeup. She didn’t even wear any perfume. She had so much natural beauty that it didn’t take much to bring it out in its full glory. Diana didn’t bother changing too much about herself, but she had changed enough to leave him astonished. That was another encouraging sign that boded well for the night.

“Well if you’re done looking foolish, let’s get going,” said Diana as she latched onto Clark’s arm. “I’m not too versed on the dating process, but I imagine few succeed on an empty stomach.”

“And you’d be right,” said Clark. “That’s why I’m taking you to one of my favorite barbeque places. It’s not too fancy, but it’s got class. I like to go there and pig out every time I’ve had a tough couple of days.”

“After out clash with Metallo, I think that would be fitting,” she said as they made their way to the elevators.

“I wouldn’t say Metallo was the toughest part of my week. Would you believe that the prospect of going on a date with a beautiful woman was enough to make Superman a nervous wreck?”

“Only if you believe that the idea of going on a date with such a wonderful man makes even an Amazon weary,” said Diana in good humor.

“Then I guess that means we’re in the same boat. I’ll try my best to limit the foolishness, but bear in mind that even Superman’s power has limits,” said Clark curtly.

“That’s okay. I don’t mind a little foolishness in a man, so long as he makes up for it in all the right ways.”

“And what might those ways entail?” he asked.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?”

She had a playful yet sexy undertone that he hadn’t heard before. He tried not to respond too foolishly, taking his hand in hers and grasping it affectionately as they entered the elevator. This ambitious endeavor could now begin and in some ways, it was as daunting as ten battles with Metallo. This was the first time they allowed themselves to just be normal around one another, relatively speaking.

He didn’t have to be Superman. She didn’t have to be Wonder Woman. They could just be a man and a woman on a date. How far this date would take them, however, remained to be seen. But if the way she was looking at him was any indication, this night had the potential to be very memorable.

* * *

**STAR Labs – Parking Garage**

“This night can’t end fast enough,” sighed a restless Lois Lane.

It had been a tough and tedious week. Everyone was still swooning over Wonder Woman while the story about Lex Luthor’s escape from justice faded almost overnight. And it wasn’t just because Wonder Woman looked better in a tiara and skin-tight outfits either. Stories involving Lex Luthor often had many loose ends and unanswered questions. It was hard enough to build a coherent story when he was parading around as a benevolent businessman. It promised to be much harder with him on the run, out of sight, and surrounded by his many resources.

This didn’t stop Lois from digging around with her usual fervor. She spent the past few days contacting sources, cashing in favors, and chasing whatever clues Luthor had left behind. He made sure she didn’t have much to go on. It made for plenty of overtime at the office, much to the dismay of her boyfriend. That still didn’t stop him from helping out, which was what led her to STAR Labs.

“I really hope these negatives you found have something important. They might be the last bread crumb Luthor is going to leave before hit men get involved,” said Lois, talking to Jonathan over her phone while waiting in the driver’s seat of her car.

_“I hope so too because I definitely made a few enemies getting those out of Luthor’s office,”_ replied Jonathan over the phone. _“His people really didn’t take kindly to news crews rummaging around after Luthor fled.”_

“You don’t get ahead in our line of work without making enemies so you must have done something right.”

_“I’m all for doing the right thing for my girlfriend, but it would be nice if that same girlfriend made sure this didn’t become one of those stories that put a dagger to her throat.”_

“I can’t make any promises. You know I don’t like to promise anything when Lex Luthor is involved,” said Lois.

_“Could you at least promise me you’ll call it a day after you meet up with your contact?”_ he asked.

“Tell you what…if this lead pans out, then I’ll break out that white box I keep under our bed,” she told him.

_“Which one is that?”_

“The one that contains that ridiculously overpriced and obscenely revealing lingerie I last wore on your birthday,” Lois answered.

There was a brief silence over the phone. Lois could already picture Jonathan’s face lighting up like a kid on Christmas morning. He understood better than most of her lovers that being with her meant a lot of worrying, but he also knew she loved him enough to make it feel worth it.

_“And if it doesn’t pan out?”_ he finally said.

“I’ll wear it anyways to cheer myself up. That way you win either way,” she told him.

She imagined his face lit up again. Lois would have loved to give him more reasons to tolerate her reckless dedication to her job, but her source had finally emerged from the secure portion of the building.

“Gotta go now, babe. Make sure you’re ready for either outcome. Love you!” said Lois as she hung up her phone.

Assured that her boyfriend felt sufficiently appreciated, Lois gathered a somewhat bulky briefcase and exited her car. She then caught up with a balding, middle-aged man with glasses and a large overcoat as he made his way across the parking lot.

“Dr. Hamilton, over here!” Lois called out.

“Lois Lane, the only person in Metropolis who enjoys putting in overtime on a Friday,” replied a restless Dr. Emil Hamilton, one of STAR Labs’ top researchers. “To what do I owe this latest visit? And does it warrant lying to my wife again?”

“I promise you this time doesn’t involve walking parasites or giant monkey robots – as far as I know,” she replied. “But I need you to look over something incredibly technical that I’m not qualified to assess.”

“Is that all?” he asked skeptically. “I know you, Ms. Lane. You rarely call in a favor this late without it being major.”

“Do you really want to know the full story? Or do you want to get this over with and call us even? I’ll even throw in a steak dinner. That way you can bring your wife home some cheesecake.”

Normally, Dr. Hamilton insisted on knowing every detail. It was part of what made him a competent scientist. But in his experience with Lois Lane, some of those details were better left unsaid. He had worked with Lois before and he considered her a valuable associate, responsible for providing STAR Labs with a great deal of good press. She even singled him out in a few stories for work he did that proved instrumental in the battles against Titano and Brainiac. For that, he owed Lois more than a few favors, although that often meant putting himself in the line of fire.

This time, however, Lois was purposefully vague when she called him a few hours ago when he was preparing to close up shop for the weekend. He figured she had good reasons for doing so and decided not to probe any further than necessary.

“Very well,” he said. “Depending on the nature of what you’ve got, it may require a few extra courses.”

“Lucky for you, I skipped lunch,” said Lois. “Now come on, I need to know what this is so I can determine how screwed I am.”

She practically shoved the heavy briefcase into his arms, which ended up being heavier than he though. She then led him over to her car where he got into the passenger’s side. From the looks of it, this was going to be a busy night for both of them.

* * *

**Shuster’s Ribs & BBQ **

“I should be used to saying this by now, but man’s world has once again surprised me. This man behind these ribs and this cheesecake is truly blessed,” said a very full and very content Diana after finishing her meal.

“I agree completely,” said Clark. “Growing up in Kansas, I was surrounded by some of the best barbeque in the Midwest. To date, Shuster’s is the only place I’ve found in Metropolis that measures up.”

“And I’m glad you found it. After a meal like this, I feel like I have the strength to take on a titan!” said Diana proudly.

“Well I can’t have my date going hungry on me now, can I?”

Diana smiled and laughed as they sat back in their booth, having enjoyed a hardy dinner and a delicious desert. Things had settled since the initial awkwardness at the beginning of their date. They could now safely say that they were enjoying each other’s company on a more personal level. And this time, it didn’t require one of them to be in danger.

The cab ride to the restaurant tested their ability to deal with uncomfortable silence. Eventually, Clark broke the ice by pointing out some of the landmarks along the way and telling her some stories about what he had experienced since moving here. Diana compared some of them with her experiences in London, which helped them relax. Once they got to the restaurant, they managed to get over the idea that this was their first date, they began talking less like a couple of superheroes in disguise and more like a couple of friends enjoying each other’s company.

It was a unique experience and not just because Diana had never been on a date before. The mere concept of getting to know this man on a personal level felt so strange yet so right. When their paths first crossed on the shores of Themyscira, so much of their conversations revolved around his knowledge of man’s world and her desire to know everything about it. And since they were constantly working on a ship or worrying about being detected, she didn’t get a chance to really learn what made this man tick. By getting to know each other like this, she learned something remarkable. Men and women really weren’t that different after all.

Such a thought would have been downright blasphemous on Themyscira. Every Amazon had been brought up to believe that man’s nature was savage and beast-like while a woman’s was compassionate and caring. But in listening to Clark describe his hopes and dreams, along with those he encountered along the way, she noticed how similar the men and women approached their lives. They loved, hated, gained, lost, and suffered all the same. The only differences were the mentality and circumstances involved.

In that sense, Clark Kent’s circumstances were wholly unique. As he described his life and his aspirations in both Smallville and Metropolis, Diana noticed a few things that set him apart from the other men he described and the men she had encountered. It led her to dig a little deeper into what made him who he was, both as Superman and as Clark Kent.

“Clark, can I ask you something personal?” asked Diana in a more serious tone.

“Sure, you can ask me anything, Diana. Just let me know if this is one of those questions I’ll have to answer tactfully,” said Clark, reminding her that they were still in public and couldn’t broach certain issues.

“I don’t think that’ll be necessary here. It’s more of an observation than a question, I suppose,” she said. “After we parted ways, you avoided getting emotionally entangled with others. Even when you were tempted – like with this Lois Lane you mentioned – you pushed others away before they got too close.”

“Well I like to think it was a lot more difficult than that, but yeah – that’s the decision I made. After what happened with us, I just…didn’t think I should put myself or anyone else through that again.”

“That’s admirable and all, but I get the impression you were already doing that before you met me. From what you told me about your life in Smallville, you did the same thing to a certain degree – not letting anyone get too close, not wanting them to get hurt. Why is that? What are you afraid of?”

It was the first difficult question that had come up since the date began. It was bound to happen sooner or later. Clark thought he was ready for it, having promised himself that he would be as honest and forthcoming with Diana as he needed to be. Part of being honest meant revealing things, intentionally and otherwise, that he wasn’t used to revealing. But this still caught him off-guard somewhat.

He had to think about it for a moment. His usual inclination was to give only a partial response. It wasn’t always satisfying, but it usually got his point across. But this clearly concerned Diana to some degree. If he was going to be open with her, then she deserved a full answer.

“You know, you’re not the first person to point that out,” Clark told her, “And if you had asked me a week ago, I probably would have given you the same answer I’ve been giving since I was a teenager. I’d have told you that it’s part of the burden I placed on myself. Because I was so _different_ , I had to be more responsible and that meant keeping everybody at arm’s length.”

“But that’s not the full story, is it?” said Diana.

“It’s not even half, I’m afraid,” he admitted. “Even before I knew how different I was, I would look at the way other people would act around one another – men and women, brothers and sisters, parents and children – and I just didn’t feel like I fit in.”

“I know what that’s like. Growing up in a place where practically nobody is your own age and expects you to grow up faster than you want…it’s hard to feel accepted.”

“I guess this is one instance where circumstances, as crazy as they might have been for us, really didn’t matter. Some people are just outsiders, able to admire the view but never be part of the show,” Clark sighed.

“But does that mean we can’t let anyone get close by default? I may have felt isolated, but I always had my mother’s love and support.”

“I had that too with my parents. The Kents always made me feel loved, even if I didn’t feel like I belonged. So much of who I am now is because of the love and support they gave me. But even they could only do so much. Some of the things that kept me from getting close to others – those were my choices.”

Clark hadn’t let himself think too much about this. He spent enough time thinking about being Superman while balancing a civilian life as Clark Kent. It felt somewhat uncomfortable, but it was also relieving to some extent. He needed to get this out. He needed to share it with someone and it helped that Diana understood in ways few could.

“I guess if I was going to give a completely honest answer, I would say that having too much to lose – that scares me,” said Clark. “Even before my parents died, I didn’t think I could handle losing too much. I know it’s part of life, losing things and learning to cope. I just didn’t know how to cope. And between losing my parents and losing you – I can’t say I’m very good at it.”

“I don’t think anybody can say they’re good at coping with such loss. Even Amazons mourn when a sister falls,” said Diana.

“But they don’t let that stop them from embracing others. I have and I guess that shows I’m not as good at it as I need to be. That makes it really hard to open up and let others in.”

“You let me in.”

“That’s because you’re different, Diana,” said Clark as he reached across the table and grasped her hand. “You’re someone I don’t have to keep secrets from. Besides, with that lasso of yours, I know I can’t.”

“I’d never dream of using it on you, Clark,” she told him.

“You won’t have to. But that’s not the only reason I opened up to you. There aren’t a lot of people in this world who are so willing to embrace others so completely. People either focus too much on the good and ignore the bad or vice versa. But you embraced me, my flaws, and everything in between. I don’t have to hide anything. I can let myself be vulnerable. And be comfortable knowing that even if I can’t cope, you’re still willing to embrace me.”

He gave her hand an affectionate squeeze, conveying to her just how much this meant to him. Every word he said was completely genuine. It was still an unfamiliar feeling, sharing his fears and insecurities with someone. Superman wasn’t supposed to have those feelings, but Clark Kent had been struggling with them for most of his life. Now he was sitting across from someone who understood and accepted these struggles. It went beyond just being attracted to this woman. Diana Prince was someone he could be completely honest with.

Diana smiled and returned the gesture, having gotten a much more detailed answer than she expected. Men were such complex creatures, much more so than what her sisters had led her to believe. She had encountered many amazing men during her time in man’s world, but only Kal-El was willing to share the breadth of such complexities. Even among her sisters on Themyscira, few dared to reveal their flaws and insecurities out of fear of being considered weak. But in revealing his, this man proved to be strong in a whole new way.

“Can I ask you a question now?” asked Clark.

“I suppose it’s only fair,” said Diana, still smiling. “Ask me whatever you please. I will answer it as though I were bound by my lasso.”

“I promise it won’t be that hard,” he assured. “I’m just curious about something. I noticed – going all the way back to when we first met – that you prefer to call me by my birth name.”

“Is that not appropriate?” asked Diana. “I will stop if it bothers you.”

“It doesn’t bother me at all. I promise,” said Clark, “But when we caught up a few nights ago, I told you that it’s important to call me Clark when I’m not in uniform. Even after that, you kept calling me by my birth name. Why is that? Is there a reason?”

He didn’t make too big a deal of it, but it definitely got his attention. Diana hadn’t thought too much of it. When they first met, he had shared both his names with her. He gave the impression that he didn’t do that with everybody he met. For all she knew, she had been the last person he revealed his birth name to. But in pondering his question, she saw an opportunity to do for him what he had just done for her.

“I’m afraid you just asked a harder question than you thought, but I’m more than willing to answer,” said Diana.

“It’s not too personal, is it?” asked Clark nervously.

“Not at all,” she assured him. “Actually, this relates more to the culture I came from. You see, a big part of who we are involves embracing our heritage, even if that heritage is mired in tragedy. We don’t hide who and what we are. We don’t apologize for it and we don’t obscure it with false rhetoric.”

“Those are all admirable traits that aren’t too common these days, but what does that have to do with names?”

“Names are just a small part of our heritage, but still carry a great deal of importance. We wield them like weapons. We yell them with pride when we charge into battle because we want our enemies to know who we are.”

“Well you do a good job of getting that message across,” said Clark.

“But your situation is different,” said Diana. “You can’t proclaim who you are because of what you do, although I get the sense that you wish you could on some levels. If you didn’t, you never would have told me your birth name in the first place.”

Clark didn’t remember putting that much thought into that moment. He had just acted on an impulse, as an inexperienced young man was prone to do in front of a beautiful woman. But that didn’t mean there wasn’t some truth to Diana’s words.

“I’ll admit it’s tempting sometimes, but it’s still not a name I often go by,” he admitted.

“But it’s still a significant part of your heritage,” she pointed out. “It is part of the world you came from. Even if you never told anybody, it is still a part of you. So when our paths first crossed and you shared that information with me, my first instinct was to call you by your birth name. While I didn’t know the extent of your heritage at the time, I knew it had to be meaningful for you to be the wonderful man that you are.”

“And you were right,” said Clark.

“I didn’t know just how right I was, but I’ve learned to trust my instincts and I’m glad I did.”

It was a more detailed answer than Clark had expected, but one that provided additional insight into this amazing woman and even himself. Diana didn’t just embrace others and all their faults. She embraced herself, not hiding anything about who or what she was. She carried herself with such pride, yet still maintained this uncanny capacity for compassion and humility. He could learn a lot from someone like her, both as Kal-El and as Clark Kent.

These sorts of questions changed the tone of the date considerably. They tried to keep it casual at first, but that could only go so far. Now they were learning more about each other, delving into the intricacies of who they were. It was more than they expected, but it added even more depth to a connection that only kept getting stronger.

“I’m sorry if I made that more difficult than it needed to be,” said Diana in a lighter tone.

“That’s all right. I appreciate the insight,” said Clark. “It’s actually reassuring to know that your instincts are so trustworthy.”

“Where I come from, they have to be. Sometimes they’re all we can rely on when we find ourselves in a difficult situation.”

“Was that what also led you to help me?”

“You mean after I shot you with an arrow?” teased Diana.

“Well I would call that more of a reflex than an instinct,” quipped Clark.

“Call it what you want, it shows that my culture is still very much a part of me. I won’t apologize for it, but I won’t justify what it taught me about men. You’ve already proven to me in so many ways how wonderful mankind can be. I like to think my instincts only confirm it.”

This time she gave his hand a squeeze. Diana even teased him with a little footsie under the table, something Hessia had described from her own dating experience. It conveyed more affection in a less playful and more intimate manner, bringing out more of the powerful feelings they had been so eager to explore.

Despite Diana and Clark’s limited dating experience, this felt like a good sign. These once overwhelming feelings kept gaining greater perspective. They were now growing in new ways, creating entirely new feelings in the process – some of which weren’t appropriate in a crowded restaurant. That didn’t make them feel any less right.

They continued their affectionate exchange even as the waiter came by to drop off their check. Clark and Diana hadn’t forgotten that the date was just beginning. There was still plenty of time to take these feelings even farther.

“Here you go. Thanks again for picking the finest barbeque in Metropolis,” said the waiter.

“Always a pleasure,” said Clark as he paid with a few twenties, making sure to leave a generous tip. “Please send Chef Shuster my regards when you get a chance. Tell him the sauce was perfect.”

“Will do, Mr. Kent!” nodded the waiter.

As the waiter picked up the payment and gathered their plates, Clark got up and extended his hand to Diana.

“Now that we’ve got a full stomach, ready for the movies?” he said in a gentlemanly tone.

“Of course, but you do know that excessive manners won’t win you additional favor, right?” said Diana as she took his hand and rose up.

“I know. I’m just following my instincts,” he replied with an innocent shrug.

Diana gave him a playful swat and followed him out of the restaurant. Their instincts were leading them in all sorts of interesting directions tonight. It was yet another positive sign that there was something special to this connection. Now armed with full stomachs and a long night ahead of them, they had plenty of time and energy to let it grow even more.

* * *

**Metropolis – Malton’s Diner**

“Give it to me straight, Doc. What kind of patient am I dealing with here?” asked Lois as she watched Dr. Hamilton go over dozens of low-quality negatives.

“To be honest, I’m still not sure. But if I had to give a prognosis, I’d say it was…intriguing,” replied Dr. Hamilton.

“In a good or bad way?” she said.

“That remains to be seen.”

Lois was rarely certain about what she would find when she started digging into a story. But whenever that story involved Lex Luthor, she had come to expect the worst if her digging led to anything at all. Luthor was usually very good at covering his tracks and he got a lot better at it after the Syria incident. This felt like one of those stories where she wouldn’t be getting the full story so she had to make sure these few parts she had obtained really counted.

Dr. Hamilton had been reviewing her materials for about an hour now. After leaving STAR Labs, she took him to a diner across town. It was low-key, but the food was still good and she made sure Dr. Hamilton remained well-nourished as he sifted through the negatives. She needed this to reveal something or at least point her in the right direction. Jonathan went through a lot of trouble to get these and he made clear that this was the most anyone was going to get at this point.

Despite being on the run and technically a fugitive, Lex Luthor made sure the press and the authorities had nothing to go on. Shortly after the Metallo story broke, Luthor’s lawyers got involved and effectively sealed off his home and his Lexcorp offices. This caused its stock to take quite a hit, but Luthor could afford take the losses. Knowing Lex would not be content hiding on some remote beach for the rest of his life, Lois believed he had to be working towards a larger payoff.

“What you have here isn’t your typical stack of office memos and travel receipts,” explained Dr. Hamilton as he held one of the negatives up to the light. “Had someone other than you shown me this, I’d have called it a random assortment of materials that have little reason to be in the same drawer.”

“Well without making too many assumptions of whose desk this came from, what can you tell me?” asked Lois intently.

“Other than you should invest in a better camera, not much,” he replied. “Near as I can tell, most of the documents in these negatives are schematics of sorts. I can’t make out the full design, but they involve a lot of advanced biotech components.”

“How advanced are we talking about here?”

“Advanced enough to safely conclude that STAR Labs has some catching up to do,” said Dr. Hamilton. “These outlines right here depict a DNA/RNA recombinating synthesizer, capable of taking various fragments of DNA, reconstituting them in an artificial substrate, and generating accelerated cellular functions within a nutrient-rich cytoplasmic medium.”

“And what does that mean for those of us who don’t have PHDs in biology?”

“I don’t know, but it’s definitely on a large scale – larger than anything that’s supposed to exist at the moment. These processes are all valid on paper, but the ethical implications have kept many from doing anything this ambitious.”

“Assume for a moment that the person involved is wholly unethical and pathologically ambitious,” said Lois. “What could he do with components like this?”

“Without knowing the full design, it’s hard to say. It would also depend on the DNA at their disposal. With the right genetic material, the kind of life forms that could be created – well, it wouldn’t take much imagination to conjure something terrifying.”

That didn’t sit well in the slightest, ensuring Lois would be skipping desert. She knew better than most how terrifying Lex Luthor’s imagination could be. Dr. Hamilton knew it too, but he avoided mentioning that name. He didn’t even let himself think it. He knew all too well what happened to anyone who got too closely involved with Lex Luthor’s affairs. He still had nightmares about what happened with him during the Titano incident. Even without Luthor’s name attached to these schematics, this had the potential to be much worse.

“I’m not going to ask for specifics. I figure I’ll sleep easier at night that way. But can you at least give me a timeframe?” asked Lois. “How long would someone with a sick enough imagination need to create something really terrifying?”

“By applying the standard rules of biology, it would take at least several months to create anything useful,” Dr. Hamilton answered. “Bear in mind, however, certain rules can be bent. But don’t quote me on that.”

“Don’t worry. I’m not quoting your or anyone else I end up dealing with. Right now, I’m just trying to get a feel for what I’m dealing with here.”

“Well it’s definitely cause for concern – that much, you can be sure of,” he said. “However, these schematics are only part of that concern. In fact, they’re not the most distressing thing I’ve seen in these negatives.”

“Then tell me what is so I know if I should skip desert,” said Lois.

“That might be a problem because this is where my expertise is severely limited.”

Dr. Hamilton set aside the negatives he had been looking at and retrieved several others that he had singled out. He held them up to the light again and scrutinized the image. They stood in stark contrast to the schematics, but the implications were still distressing.

“What you’re looking at here has nothing to do with biotechnology, science, or even typical business affairs,” he went on. “They’re just personal letters, sent by a private courier and intended to be very private. It appears some of them had been thrown away in a panic.”

“Well the handsome man who got these for me did say he fished some out of a trash can,” said Lois.

“And there were probably many more he couldn’t save because near as I can tell, these letters are part of a conversation that has been going on for quite some time. It involves lengthy discussion regarding Greco-Roman artifacts, ancient mythology, and expeditions to various sites in Greece, Italy, and North Africa.”

“I’m guessing we’re not talking about vacation plans and cruises.”

“It’s hard to tell what they’re talking about exactly, but there are a few telling themes,” said Dr. Hamilton. “Some refer to prospective business clients. Some refer to inquiries made to museums and experts regarding ancient artifacts and legends. Nobody names any names. Nobody gets too specific, but this document in particular mentions elements of Greek mythology.”

“What kind of elements?” asked Lois.

“I can’t make out the handwriting, but there are mentions of a one particular artifact. It’s some kind of knife or dagger, I believe.”

This heightened Lois’ interest. She recalled all too vividly how Metallo held a dagger to her neck to draw out Superman. She didn’t give it much thought at the time, but she noticed that Metallo made it a point of emphasis to use the dagger to finish off Superman. He didn’t try to snap his neck or poison him to death with the kryptonite. She didn’t recall anyone saying they had recovered a dagger from the fight scene. Everyone had been too focused on Wonder Woman to give it much thought. She now suspected that this dagger could be the key to unlocking the truth.

“Tell me more about this dagger,” said Lois intently. “What is it and why is it singled out?”

“I’m sorry, but you’re asking a man who only got a C-minus in Ancient Mythology in college,” said Dr. Hamilton as he set aside the negative. “Without knowing more details that I don’t care to know in the first place, I can’t tell you much. I can only say this artifact is very valuable.”

“I didn’t intend to tell you more than you want to know. I understand you’re a big fan of ignorance now,” said Lois in a critical tone.

“Only to the point where I don’t have to lie when asked,” retorted Dr. Hamilton. “But you don’t need to tell me much. I can surmise certain details on my own. So before you let something slip, let me ask this – if you wanted to keep something secret, why would you only write letters that you would only end up throwing away?”

“Well if reporting on leaked text messages has taught me anything, it’s because I don’t trust anything electronic to stay private.”

“Then you would be safe in assuming that you won’t find any trace of these letters in email logs or cell phones. Someone went out of their way to make sure the information in these letters stated completely private. If there’s anything else like them, then they’ve probably already found their way to an incinerator.”

Dr. Hamilton just described Lex Luthor’s tactics to the letter without using his name. She could tell by the tepid look in his eyes that he knew this too, but he didn’t say it out loud. He was really going out of his way to make sure he remained blissfully unaware of what she was caught up him. While she could hardly blame him, this only made following this story more difficult.

At the very least, she established another connection. Now it made a bit more sense as to why Luthor fled to Greece when he had so many other options with his vast resources. However, he made sure he left little behind for anyone to follow. These negatives were the best she could come up with and they might not be enough.

“So what you’re telling me is if I want to learn more, I’m screwed,” said Lois.

“I didn’t say that, but your options are limited,” conceded Dr. Hamilton. “I can’t do much more for you, I’m afraid. However, that doesn’t mean I can’t help you.”

He carefully gathered the negatives and placed them back in the briefcase Lois had given her. He then retrieved a napkin from the dispenser on the table, got a pen from his pocket, and wrote down some information. While Dr. Hamilton was reluctant to get caught up in one of Lois Lane’s stories, he didn’t doubt for a second that she would do the right thing when push came to shove.

“I’m giving you the private contact information of a friend of a friend,” said Dr. Hamilton. “His name is Professor Felix Foust. He specializes in Greco-Roman antiquities. He’s a bit of an eccentric and there are some stories about him that are…unsettling to say the least.”

“Sounds like some of my dad’s old army buddies,” commented Lois.

“But if there’s a story behind this dagger, he would definitely know about it. I can’t guarantee that it’ll be a pleasant conversation. You might have to be tactful in how you broach this subject.”

“Even more so than I am with you?”

“If you want a straight answer, sometimes you need to ask obscure questions – especially for men of peculiar obsessions,” he told her.

Dr. Hamilton handed her the napkin, which now had an address and a phone number. This was as far as he could go in terms of helping her. He had every intention of forgetting this meeting and everything he saw on those negatives the moment he walked out of this diner. As Lois looked at the napkin, he put on his coat and got up from the booth.

“Thank you for the dinner and the cheesecake,” he told her. “I hope you find what you’re looking for, Ms. Lane. I just hope it doesn’t get too _messy_ .”

“Oh come now, Doc. You know I’m only as reckless as I need to be,” said Lois jokingly.

They both laughed, knowing a certain level of recklessness would be necessary to get to the truth. In both their line of work, that often led to plenty of danger. But for Lois, the danger was a lot less predictable.

Dr. Hamilton left the diner while Lois put the napkin away in her purse. She hadn’t uncovered as much as she hoped, but she uncovered more than she expected. She still had a chance to reveal Luthor’s closely guarded secrets, but that meant relying on new sources that she didn’t even know she could trust. Since time was still a factor, she didn’t have the luxury of vetting this Felix Foust in ways that couldn’t be accomplished on a smart phone. Knowing this, Lois called for the check and looked up the address on her phone. She had to get to Professor Foust before Luthor, otherwise the trail would go cold.

* * *

**Metropolis – Outside The New Warner Theater**

Clark and Diana’s first date once again settled into a more casual mood. The heightened feelings at the restaurant subsided somewhat, but only to a point. They left emboldened, eager to continue their date and see where it took them. This led them to the movie theater where more of their personal subtleties were revealed.

After waiting in line during the typical Friday night rush, they picked out a movie. There wasn’t much debate. Clark showed little preference, having never been much of a movie buff. Diana took the choice a lot more seriously. She ultimately made the decision and they ended up seeing a movie that just came out. It was a typical action movie, full of explosions, overly macho men, and beautiful women. It was a surprising selection, but one that ended up being the right one in plenty of unexpected ways.

During the movie, Clark noticed another one of Diana’s quirks. When she saw a movie, she loved to break down the action and point out the flaws of certain tactics. She also got excited when she saw other women participate in the fighting. That didn’t come as too much of a surprise, being a warrior woman who grew up around fighting. These movies had their faults, but they were clearly one of the many features about man’s world that she had come to enjoy.

When the movie concluded and they exited the theater, Diana was satisfied and sufficiently entertained. Clark didn’t usually get this worked up about a movie, but that didn’t make it any less enjoyable seeing Diana so upbeat.

“That movie was more satisfying than I expected,” said Diana, still clinging to Clark’s arm as they followed the crowd outside. “The effects were weak, but the characters were strong. I’d say that’s a suitable trade-off.”

“I’ll take your word for it. This is the first movie I’ve seen in the theaters in over a year,” he told her.

“You’re not big on movies?”

“I like them just fine. I just rarely find the time to see them. I usually just catch them on cable.”

“Complete with inane commercials and all the good parts cut out? Unacceptable!” Diana teased.

“I know. I’m terrible at keeping up with popular culture. But if I’m dating a movie buff, maybe I’ll have more incentive.”

She laughed while he affectionately grasped her hand. Being with Diana had already taught Clark a lot about himself. Just going to a movie with her revealed how much he had drowned himself in his work. He rarely took the time to step back and appreciate the people he was trying to protect. Having someone like Diana in his life might give him all the more reason to be a better Superman.

“Even if you haven’t kept up, I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did,” said Diana.

“I thought it was great. It had action, comedy, and drama. There was plenty to enjoy,” said Clark. “Plus, that actress who played the soldier – Gal Gadot, I think – was really something.”

“I agree. She’s a personal favorite of mine,” she said. “A tough woman who plays tough roles – I can appreciate that.”

“For obvious reasons,” quipped Clark.

“If only she could get cast in a movie with a more suitable male lead. I didn’t mind the actors in this movie, but there was room for improvement. Someone like Ben Affleck or Henry Cavill would have been much better.”

“Well if they ever end up in a movie with Gal Gadot, you and I will be first in line to see it.”

“I hope so. Good movies are worth waiting for, but sometimes waiting can be frustrating.”

They appeared to the same page in terms of movies, another good sign for the course of this night. It helped add to the powerful feelings that had been growing since the date began. As they made their way away from the movie theater, they just started walking. They didn’t have a destination in mind. They just kept following these feelings.

“I hope by then, you’ll share in the excitement. You looked a bit uncertain at times during the movie,” said Diana.

“Well to be fair, I spent the first half-hour surprised that you would pick a movie like this.”

“Why is that? You didn’t think I was going to make you sit through some bland chick-flick, did you?” teased Diana.

“Would you hold it against me if I thought that was a real possibility?”

“Only if you actually expected me to conform to the expectations of man’s world,” she scoffed.

“And you know I wouldn’t dare to think that,” said Clark.

“Sure you wouldn’t,” said Diana skeptically.

She gave him a playful nudge as they started walking down the street together. Even though Diana had thumbed her nose at plenty of traditional female stereotypes, Clark still applied them at times. It was something else he was going to have to work on if he was to be involved with this woman. Diana was a woman in a class all her own. Traditional standards just didn’t apply for her.

“To be fair, I’ve noticed that conforming to expectations is a common issue. I’ve also noticed it applies to both men and women,” said Diana more seriously.

“Yeah, that’s one of those things most people don’t talk about or scrutinize,” said Clark.

“I guess coming from such a different world made it harder to overlook,” she went on. “I see movies that come out and women are expected to like them. They emphasize romance, drama, tragedy, and all these generic stories that have been told since the days of Homer. And while women may consume these stories, I often wonder whether it’s because they really enjoy them or if they’ve just been conditioned to.”

“It’s probably a little of both.”

“You’re probably right. The same applies to men. A movie comes out full of action, explosions, and beautiful women in obscene outfits – they’re expected to enjoy it and they consume it willingly. But they’re subject to the same conditioning. That makes it hard to know what is truly masculine and what is truly feminine.”

“Sometimes it’s just easier to conform to expectations,” said Clark. “We all have an inherent need to be part of a community. Even people like you and me try to belong.”

“And that can be dangerous sometimes,” said Diana. “I came from a culture where expectations are much more stringent. So when I tried to defy them…well, you know how that turned out.”

“That doesn’t mean it wasn’t the right thing to do.”

“I know it was right. But it still troubles me because I see it seems to pervade every culture I encounter. Men and women are expected to behave a certain way. Sometimes there’s even the illusion of choice. It makes me wonder, at times, at what this means.”

“It’s worth thinking about. Then again, I always ended up having to make tough choices, regardless of what everyone expected.”

“You would be an exception in that respect and a rare one at that,” said Diana, “But there are so many others who never got to make the choice I made – to defy expectations and do what feels right rather than what feels appropriate. How many have denied themselves the same satisfaction I’ve experienced?”

Diana had a way of raising difficult questions about difficult issues. It was something Clark didn’t often think about. So much of his issues involved confronting physical dangers that others couldn’t confront. This was something that ran deeper, so much so that even the power of Superman couldn’t grasp it.

As they walked along the busy sidewalks, taking in the crowds of men and women going about their business, it was hard not to contemplate the expectations driving them. Clark saw a young woman wearing a dress she clearly didn’t like while walking with her father and mother. He also noticed a boy eating some ice cream from a cone that he seemed to enjoy, but not as much as the siblings walking near him. He even saw another couple walking down the opposite street. The woman was latched to the man’s arm, just like Diana was with his. They seemed to be having a good time, but they also seemed to be doing what was expected of them for a typical date. Something about that bothered him. Looking back at Diana, he didn’t want this relationship to be typical.

“We’ll probably never know for sure. There’s not much we can do to change what people expect of one another. These expectations aren’t something we can touch or overpower in a fight,” said Clark.

“So what _can_ we do?” she asked with a sigh.

“We can do what we’re already doing. We can _inspire_ ,” he said strongly. “We show that we can be more than what we’re expected to be. And if we can do it right, then others will do it as well.”

“And you think that’s enough?”

“I believe that’s the best way to do it. You can’t force positive change. People will make the right decisions when they know those decisions are genuine.”

“That’s undeniably noble, but also frustratingly tedious,” Diana pointed out.

“Well like that movie with Gal Gadot, Ben Affleck, and Henry Cavill you mentioned, it’s worth waiting for.”

Diana laughed again, which helped lighten the mood once more. They seemed to have a knack for doing that around one another. It was a valuable skill to have, especially if this was to be the first of many dates. It gave them plenty of positive expectations in that regard.

“Only you could make something so noble seem so appealing,” said Diana, taking his hand and entwining their fingers.

“That’s how I inspire,” said Clark with a smile.

“And you do it well,” she told him. “And since you’ve inspired me so, I propose we do something that defies expectations for two people on a first date. To hell with propriety! Let’s just do something we can enjoy and not care about how others may perceive it.”

“Only you could make something so defiant seem so appealing,” said Clark, noting the excitement in her tone.

“Then help me think of something before we start second-guessing ourselves,” she said with more urgency. “It’ll help make this date more memorable than it already is.”

Knowing Diana would not back down when she was this certain about something, Clark began thinking. He wanted this date to be as memorable as possible and so did Diana. He forced himself to not make excuses for anything that came to mind, but it also had to be special.

They kept walking for a couple blocks, mulling over the possibilities. Then, as they passed by a sporting goods store, Clark got an idea that was both outrageous and appropriate.

“Hold up, Diana. I just thought of something,” he said as they stopped walking.

“What is it, Clark?” said Diana, who had been blanking on ideas.

“It’s actually something I hoped to do before we parted ways last time, but we never got the chance. We’ll have to go into this sporting goods store for a moment and hail another cab, but I think you’re going to enjoy this!”

* * *

**Later – Metropolis Central Park**

“Are you ready, Diana? This is for the win,” said Clark intently.

“I’m ready, Clark. Do it already!” said Diana confidently.

Taking the Amazon warrior at her word, Clark proceeded as planned. Emotions were intensifying. Passions were running high. This date had quickly taken on a profoundly different tone, but not in the way either of them expected.

“Down! Set…Blue 52! Blue 52!” he shouted. “Hike!”

It unfolded exactly as they had drawn it up. Diana snapped him the football he bought from the sporting goods store and the play unfolded. Diana, having tossed aside her heels, ran out in the specified pattern he described. She did a double move and then went long, showing agility that few would expect for a woman in a dress. But she didn’t mind in the slightest. As soon as she got far enough, Clark threw the ball downfield in a perfect spiral and Diana made an acrobatic catch. As soon as she had it in hand, she held it up and celebrated.

“Touchdown!” Diana proclaimed. “Game over and another comeback for the ages! Clark Kent has done it again and led his team to victory!”

“You’re having way too much fun with this, Diana,” laughed Clark from across the field, “And no, I’m not complaining in the slightest.”

“Never be afraid of too much fun, Clark. Some things are worth overdoing!” she replied as she skillfully spun the football on the tip of her finger.

“I’ve never really had a chance to have this much fun before, but I could get used to it.”

Diana smiled and threw the ball back towards him, which he caught easily. When imagining the perfect date with Diana, Clark never could have imagined something like this. It went against all every notion of what constituted a date, but it still worked so beautifully.

It sounded crazy when he first said it out loud, but Diana went along with it. First, they went into a sporting goods store where Clark purchased a couple of regulation footballs. Then, they hailed a cab and rode it to Metropolis Central Park. At this hour, it was mostly dark with the exception of a full moon and a few security lights. That was fine by them because it meant more privacy. They soon found an open field near a baseball diamond. Diana then removed her heels and they began playing football, carrying on as though they were a couple of kids fooling around in the back yard.

It certainly went against expectations, but it was fitting in a number of ways. While Clark had been stranded on Themyscira, he tried to teach Diana about the various sports in man’s world. Football ended up appealing to her most. She appreciated the skill and athleticism it required. She also enjoyed the hitting. That certainly resonated with her Amazonian heritage. At one point, he tried to make a football out of boar skin so they could play a little before he left. The arrival of Diana’s mother and sisters changed those plans, but that only made the end result more worth it.

“So what other plays can we run? I’m willing to risk a few more grass stains if you are,” said Diana as she jogged back across the field.

“I think you’ve exhausted my football knowledge,” replied Clark as he casually tossed her the ball. “There’s only so much we can do without pads and a goalpost, I’m afraid.”

“That’s okay. I like this. You and me – having fun through feats of strength and agility – it feels right.”

“Which is saying something in and of itself,” noted Clark.

“I agree. It says we have our own unique way of doing things. And guess what? It works.”

She tossed the ball back again and he did the same. Instead of running plays or getting overly elaborate, they just started playing catch. It was so simple yet it felt so right. For a moment, Clark and Diana were back on the beaches of Themyscira, having the kind of innocent fun that young people were supposed to have. Now here they were, a couple of adults who had to endure plenty of hardship to get to this point. Something about that made this connection they shared all the more meaningful.

“I’m sorry we didn’t get a chance to do something like this before,” said Clark, his tone shifting as they kept tossing the ball. “It would have been nice to do something like this back on the island, even if it ended the way it did.”

“Yes, it certainly would have. Then again, there were a lot of things we didn’t get to do,” said Diana. “There was so much more I wanted to learn. There was so much more I wanted to share with you.”

“That’s for sure. But I wasn’t just talking about what we could learn from each other.”

When Diana threw the ball towards him this time, he held onto it. He looked down at the ball and back at her. In his memories, he still saw the beautiful teenage girl who yearned to embrace the outside world. Now, that girl had grown into a woman who had experienced that world and somehow became more wonderful because of it. In himself, he saw someone who had been profoundly influenced by this woman. While he only knew her for a brief while in his youth, she helped him become the man he was now.

After reuniting with her and spending this night with her, it put a lot of things about the past and present into perspective. As he looked at Diana under the soft moonlight, he realized something he never got a chance to realize when he first met her. And he had to share it with her while he still had the chance.

“Diana, as much fun as this night has been, there’s something I need to get out…something I wish I could’ve shared with you years ago,” said Clark.

“What is it, Clark?” asked Diana, sharing his more serious tone.

Setting the ball aside, Clark approached her with the same demeanor as his younger self. He allowed himself to be vulnerable again, standing before her with the utmost sincerity. She looked at him with her caring eyes, ready to embrace him no matter what.

“For most of my life, I’ve always had this…emptiness inside me that made me feel alone,” said Clark. “Being the last of my kind and not being able to share that with anyone isn’t something I can just ignore. My parents, my friends, my colleagues, and the people I save – they all make me feel loved and I’m always willing to return the feeling. But there are parts of that emptiness they can never fill.”

Clark gently cupped her chin and caressed her face, gazing upon her with a special kind of affection that made even an Amazon warrior falter.

“It wasn’t until I met you on that island that the emptiness finally faded,” he continued. “I may have been young, but I know what I felt. I just didn’t know how deep it went.”

“I felt it too. It was pretty deep,” said Diana with equally strong affection.

“Being around you, I didn’t feel alone. I didn’t feel lost. I felt stronger in ways I never felt after I saw you again. There were even times during those final days where it had gotten to a point where I started feeling things that I couldn’t leave behind on that island. And I’m convinced that if we had just a little more time, I would have been able to at least admit it.”

“Admit what, Clark?” asked Diana intently, her heart now racing. “Tell me now before so you don’t have to wait another five years to say it.”

“That I was starting to fall in love with you,” he said, not giving himself a chance to hesitate. “I could’ve said it. Or at the very least, I could have _hinted_ at it. But I never got the chance.”

It struck with the force of a titan army, this admission that they had both felt but never articulated. Diana found herself drifting deeper into Clark’s warmth, wrapping her arms around his neck so that he could feel the extent of her own emotions. It left them paralyzed in a way they had never experienced, but they didn’t dare fight it.

“You didn’t have to say it or hint it, Kal. I felt it. We both did,” said Diana in a soft tone.

“But still…” began Clark, still having so many things he left unsaid.

“But nothing,” she told him, placing a finger on his lips. “You started falling in love with me. I started falling in love with you. Being separated didn’t stop that process. So let’s not agonize over all the steps we skipped.”

“We missed a lot. And I don’t want to miss anymore.”

“We won’t. We’re here now…together and strong. No emptiness…no lost chances…just us.”

There was nothing more to say at this point. Under the soft glow of the moonlight, that process that began five years ago on Themyscira could finally be complete. Nothing else was getting in their way. Nothing was holding them back. With these powerful feelings guiding them and burning emotions fueling their desires, their faces drifted closer together until their lips finally touch to form a passionate kiss.

In an instant, everything that had kept Clark and Diana apart disappeared. The connection they had formed strengthened and through that connection, a new outpouring of emotion flowed. Their tender kiss turned into an outburst of passion. Diana clung to his shoulders while Clark slipped his arms around her waist, holding her in his powerful arms. Any remaining reservations they had officially faded. They would not hold back on this night. They were going to express this feeling in its fullest and nothing was going to stop them.

* * *

**Metropolis Technical and State University – Antiquities Department**

“Professor Foust? Professor Foust, are you there?” asked an increasingly desperate Lois Lane. “Your teaching assistant told me you were working late. I hope you have time to talk.”

She frantically knocked on the door of Professor Foust’s office for the third time. She knew she was pushing her luck at this point, hoping that the professor would be working late on a Friday night. This was her last source. If she hit a dead end here, then the story would be dead. She needed it to pan out or Lex Luthor will have once again outwitted the truth.

As soon as she left the diner, Lois drove straight to the campus where Professor Foust conducted most of his studies. Not surprisingly, he worked primarily out of a department that got most of its funding from a Lexcorp subsidiary. There was nothing that directly tied this funding to the work of Felix Foust. That would have been too obvious for Luthor, but Foust’s department did receive a disproportionate share of the funding. That alone assured Lois that she was on the right track. But as soon as she arrived at the campus, she already got the sense that she was too late.

“What am I doing wasting my breath?” she sighed. “At this hour, I need to skip a few steps.”

Lois tried opening the door. As expected, it was locked. That meant the teaching assistant she talked to on the phone a half-hour ago had either been lying or was misinformed. She decided to work under the assumption that Foust was a man who didn’t always tell the truth to his subordinates. If worked with Lex Luthor, then he probably shared a few of his defining personality traits. That meant she would have to break a few rules to get the story she wanted.

She briefly looked to her right and then to her left, making sure that nobody else walking the halls. At this hour, it was pretty quiet so Lois was in the clear. She then reached into her purse and retrieved a pocket knife that she always carried with her and used one of the tools to pick the lock. It was a less-than-ethical practice, but one she found she often had to use when investigating a Lexcorp story. Picking locks wasn’t her specialty, but growing up on army basis and having to survive in volatile situations made it a skill worth having.

_‘I can already hear Perry yelling at me from his office. He’s saying I’m really pushing it, breaking into the offices of people who might have nothing to do with a story. If he’s smart, he won’t ask. That way only one of us has to lie.’_

It didn’t take long for her to get it unlocked. She looked around to again to make sure the coast was still clear. Then she entered the office and turned on the light. What she saw was a story in and of itself.

“Okay, this is a little disconcerting,” Lois said to herself.

She had just walked into the domain of someone who was more than a little passionate about his work. This walked a fine line between dedication and obsession, but she got the sense that the line had been crossed long ago.

Felix Foust’s office wasn’t an office as much as it was a museum crammed into the confines of an office. Every wall was lined with artwork and displays, each depicting or containing ancient artifacts. Most were of a very Greco-Roman nature, but there were a few other exotic displays that Lois didn’t recognize. They included things like vases, fresco fragments, swords, shields, and jewelry. Some of this stuff looked like it belonged under lock and key in a real museum, which led her to believe that Foust didn’t acquire these relics through entirely legitimate means.

In addition to the artifacts, there were also mountains books stacked on every table. Some reached as high as the ceiling and weren’t all that organized. Some even lay open on the tables, indicating that Foust was in the middle of something. His desk alone had several books opened along with several laminated parchments. Since Lois didn’t have time to become an expert on ancient mythology or artifacts, she focused on these materials. She needed to get a sense for what had been up to and how it could relate to Luthor.

“Okay, I’m going to try and ignore the fact that I’m in some fanboys shrine to all things Ancient Greek,” said Lois as she stepped over a few stacks of papers. “What are you up to, Foust? What could Luthor be paying you to research?”

She began sifting through the books and papers on his desk. She couldn’t make sense of most of it since it was written in a language she didn’t speak. There were a few documents containing research materials and references to a rare collection of artifacts that existed mostly in myth rather than history. She didn’t see anything that looked like the dagger that Dr. Hamilton had deemed so important. But one parchment did catch her eye.

After clearing aside a few books, Lois spread out the parchment a little more to reveal a more elaborate depiction. Part of it appeared to be a map of sorts, detailing a remote area in Greece. It highlighted a temple complex, complete with records of rituals and sacraments. On the other part of the parchment was a smaller depiction of a large suit of armor. It didn’t look like any armor she had ever seen in history or in myth. It had all sorts of ancient symbols associated with it, but Foust had placed a post-it note over with two underlined words.

“The Annihilator Armor,” Lois read. “It sounds more like an action figure than an artifact, but it must be something important to put this much work into it. I’d love to ask questions about it. What are the chances you’re still around to answer them, Professor Foust?”

She continued sifting through the books and documents strewn along Professor Foust’s desk. Lois needed to find a calendar or an itinerary of sorts to see if she could at all catch up with him. A man who was this thorough with his research had to have something. He clearly hadn’t told his teaching assistant so she would have to piece it together herself.

Then, as Lois dug through another stack of books on a table next to Foust’s desk, she found his printer. In the tray, she saw a couple sheets of paper that had been printed out and never retrieved. When she retrieved them to see what they contained, her determination immediately turned to dismay. Her worst fear had just been confirmed.

“Damn you, Foust! Damn you, Luthor!” she cursed as she clutched the sheets of paper. “You did it again. You ruined all my hard work. Could this night get any worse?”

* * *

**Metropolis – Clark’s Apartment**

It was official. This was the best night of Clark Kent’s life. His date with Diana had become something much more. All these powerful feelings that had plagued them both for the past five years became much less complicated. Now it was really happening. Every pent of feeling was set to manifest in a physical act.

It began in the park with one kiss. That kiss turned into an emotional outpouring of every emotion they wanted to convey to one another. This emotional outpouring soon became mixed with a burning desire. That desire led them to skip whatever else they had planned for the night and return to Clark’s apartment. They didn’t get a cab this time. They couldn’t wait that long. They broke the agreement they made early on about not using their powers and took to the sky. Then, at speeds too fast for anyone in the city to see, Diana and Kal made it back to the apartment in mere seconds. Once the door was closed behind them, the final culmination of their passions could begin.

“Clark…Kal…nothing better tear you away from me this time,” said Diana in her heated desperation.

“It won’t, Diana. I promise,” said Clark intently.

Desperation became determination as they resumed their passionate kissing. Having returned to normal speed, they stumbled into the apartment in a fury of affectionate gestures. Their lips and tongues swirled, their hands wildly roamed, and their bodies became enmeshed within their strong embrace, ruffling their clothes and fueling the urge to shed them. At one point, Diana jumped up and threw her legs around his waist. He instinctively caught her, allowing him to get a nice grip on her butt. And as their heated kissing intensified, he led her towards his bedroom.

In the midst of this growing passion, Clark higher functions hadn’t completely shut down. He knew where this was going. Diana had to know as well. The way she clung to him made clear how much she wanted this. He wanted it too. He never wanted anything so badly before in his life. But if they went through with this, it opened the door to a new host of possibilities. They would no longer just be a man and a woman who decided to go on a date. They wouldn’t just be two people who met in their youth and formed a special connection either. They would become something much more profound.

Following these powerful wants and desires, Clark sat Diana down on the foot of his bed. They continued with their heated kissing. It was becoming unbearable, the growing need to express their passion. But before it became too overwhelming, their lips parted briefly and Clark gazed lovingly into Diana’s eyes.

“Diana…do you want this?” he asked her breathlessly.

“Yes…I want this so bad,” answered Diana without hesitation.

“Just know that if we do this – it changes things. You and me…become something much bigger. It might be something we’re not ready for.”

“You think we’re not ready?”

“I think we’re not thinking clearly right now.”

He almost sounded reluctant, but she could tell how much he wanted this. The way he held her in his arms with such strength and care gave the impression that they were about to lose control. Superman and Wonder Woman couldn’t lose control. But as far as she was concerned, they weren’t Superman and Wonder Woman at the moment. They were just Diana and Kal, two powerful beings immersed in passion. Their thinking might not be clear, but their feelings couldn’t be more certain.

“Then don’t think. Just feel,” Diana told him. “Feel this with me. Share it with me. I want it. You want it too, don’t you?”

“Of course I do,” said Clark.

“Then embrace it with me,” she urged him. “Don’t think about what it means. Just embrace it for what this is.”

“And what exactly is this? What would you call it?” he asked her.

“It’s exactly what you think it is, Kal. Now take me in your arms, lay me on your bed, and make love to me. You’ll be my Superman. And I’ll be your Wonder Woman.”

She smiled lovingly and he smiled back. He then kissed her again and followed her urgings. Together, they embraced this feeling.

Without these reservations, basic passions took over. They shed their clothes, slipped under the soft sheets of the bed, and let their lustful actions convey their loving sentiment. Their bodies soon moved together in a graceful yet heated dance, manly muscle clashing harmoniously with womanly curves. Sharp gasps and desperate cries of bliss soon filled the room. Lips and tongues continued roaming, tasting the sweet bliss of their flesh. It was ecstasy every bit as strong as the powers they wielded.

Through this act, there was no more doubt about what it was or where it would lead them. This connection they had made was special. Now that they had come together and embraced it fully, the implications were now clear. Clark and Diana were falling in love. Now, in wake of this powerful act, that love was ready to blossom.

* * *

**Up next: Strong Hearts and Cold Trails**


	10. Strong Hearts and Cold Trails

**Strangers In Paradise**   
**Chapter 10: Strong Hearts and Cold Trails**

* * *

**Clark’s Apartment**

The sun rose over Metropolis, awaking Clark Kent from the most peaceful sleep he had in his life. He could honestly say he had never felt this good or this rested. It defied even Superman’s abilities, which only made it more satisfying.

When Clark stirred from the feeling of the morning sun on his face, he opened his eyes to see a beautiful sight. Diana was still curled up next to him, having fallen asleep with her head resting on his chest. His arm remained affectionately draped around her, holding her close in an intimate embrace. They were both still naked, covered only by the sheets of his bed. It provided a pleasant reminder of the passion they shared last night and the bliss it brought them.

_‘Wow. It really happened. It wasn’t a dream. I went on a date with this beautiful woman, I opened up to her more than I ever thought I could, and I made love to her in my bed. And to think, at this time last week I was still convinced that I could never get close to anybody. But Diana isn’t just anybody. She’s not just some girl I met in my youth that I never thought I’d see again. She’s an amazing woman and I’m falling in love with her. In fact, I think I’m done falling. I am in love with this woman!’_

Clark didn’t dare move a muscle. He just lay silent, admiring Diana’s sleeping form. She looked so beautiful in the light of the morning sun. It was amazing to contemplate, all the emotions this woman had evoked in him. It rendered him powerless and vulnerable, a feeling he was not used to. But for once, he didn’t mind. It actually felt good, being this vulnerable. It made him feel human, connecting with someone so completely.

He could have easily spent all morning just admiring Diana. But the morning sun eventually roused her as well. When she opened her eyes and saw his loving gaze staring back at her, she smiled back with a love and contentment befitting of an Amazon warrior.

“Hey,” said Diana in a tired daze.

“Good morning, beautiful,” greeted Clark. “Sleep well?”

“Better than all the souls in Elysium,” she replied. “I still can’t believe it happened. Last night was so…incredible.”

“I know. I’m still trying to convince myself that it wasn’t a dream.”

“Well maybe this will help.”

Diana shifted her body within his embrace, getting on top of him so the full weight of her naked body pressed against his. She then captured his lips in a soft kiss, sharing with him the same tender affection that had led to such great passion last night. Since they were still so tired, it didn’t get nearly as heated. However, it still offered a tangible reminder that this was real.

“Mmm…are you convinced?” asked Diana.

“Completely,” answered Clark.

She smiled again and nestled herself comfortably on his chest again, allowing her to listen to the soothing beating of his heart. He then wrapped both arms around her, holding her in a more secure embrace. Diana felt his strong hands drift along her thighs and lower back. Clark’s soft touch filled her with such loving affection. Even after all the affection they shared last night, there was so much to enjoy.

“I don’t ever want to forget last night,” said Clark, his hands now resting on her hips.

“Me neither,” said Diana, still in a tired daze.

“I also don’t want last night to be a one-time thing.”

“So you want to make love again?” she asked playfully. “I’m not sure if that’s typical on the first date, but I could give it a try.”

“I’m not just talking about making love…although that is an appealing idea,” he responded. “I want last night to be the beginning of something deeper.”

“After what we did in and out of this bed, how much deeper can we get?” asked Diana.

“There’s only so much that can be done in the span of one night. And I want to take it even further. I don’t want us to just be a man and a woman who go out on dates and make love.”

“Even if it does make for such pleasant mornings?” she questioned.

“I’d like to think of that as a nice bonus…a _very_ nice bonus. But in addition to all those other wonderful experiences we shared, our date revealed to me that I want to share my life with somebody. I don’t want to cut myself off from others for the sake of being a better Superman. I believe I can be better and still have a relationship with a special someone. And I want you, Diana Prince, to be that special someone.”

It was a serious, significant decision for a man to make this early in the morning. Having a naked woman on top of him certainly affected him. How could he possibly think straight with someone like Diana in his arms? But he meant every word he said. As he held this woman in his arms, he had no doubt whatsoever.

As Diana listened to his steady heartbeat, she thought about what this would mean for them. Reconnecting after being torn apart for five years was one thing. Building something from that connection was entirely different. She had no experience in sharing her life with a man. Then again, she had no experience being intimate with a man until last night. Before, the idea of opening herself up to someone like this made her feel vulnerable. Now, as she lay in his arms, it made her feel strong. For once, her heart and her mind made the path before her clear.

“Clark Kent…Kal-El…are you asking me to be your lover?” asked Diana while lovingly stroking his manly chest.

“If you need to give it some thought, take all the time you need,” teased Clark, “And if you need some additional incentive…”

His words trailed off as he tempted her passions once more. His gentle hands became bolder, sliding up along her thighs and grasping her heart-shaped butt. Diana replied with a content purr, rousing from her morning daze in more ways than one. She found herself pawing his chest more passionately. She then rose up so that she could gaze into Clark’s loving eyes.

“I don’t need any incentive. As far as I’m concerned, I officially became your lover the moment I woke up in your arms,” said Diana.

“Then the hardest part of this morning is officially over,” said Clark proudly.

“You sound relieved. You shouldn’t be. I want this too. I want to share my life with someone who can make me a better woman and a better warrior. You’ve already succeeded in part, Kal. I’m ready to go even farther with you.”

“How far are we talking about here?” he asked curiously.

“As far as I have to,” she replied in a more seductive tone.

Having made clear the extent to which they wanted to share this connection, Diana and Clark sealed their new status as lovers with a kiss. It felt so right, the desire to be together and share all these wonderful feelings. There had been so many forces keeping them apart from the moment they met. Yet here they were, lying in each other’s arms and sharing so much love. It boded well for their new status as lovers.

As they kissed, their tender touching escalated. Clark gave her butt a harder squeeze, evoking another soft purr. Diana affectionately grasped he sides of his face, caressing his manly features and allowing her body to lightly grind against his. It wasn’t nearly as fervent as it had been the previous night, but it was enough to trigger a fresh wave of arousal. With the sun now beaming in through the window, it felt like a fitting way to commemorate this moment.

Clark was fully prepared to share another round of ecstasy with his lover. Even though Diana didn’t end up needing extra incentive to become his lover, it couldn’t hurt putting those efforts to good use. He was just about ready to succumb to his lover’s embrace. Then, the buzzer to his front door sounded.

“Hmm…who could be buzzing me this early on a Saturday?” said Clark, his lips parting from hers briefly.

“Ignore it. You have more pressing matters to attend to,” said Diana playfully.

She captured his lips again, dispelling any inclination he might have had to answer the door. They resumed their passionate gestures, having every intention to see them through. Then the buzzer sounded again. This time it sounded more urgent. It was being pressed in rapid succession. It was then followed by frantic knocking. This clearly was not the act of someone just passing by.

“I better get that,” he sighed, breaking the kiss once more.

“They’ll come back if it’s urgent,” said Diana, still trying to tempt him.

“I’m sorry, Diana. But in my line of work, that’s not always an option.”

Despite Diana’s best efforts, Clark managed to escape her grasp and slip off the bed. She could only groan in disappointment as she watched him retrieve a pair of sweatpants from his dresser and exit the room.

“It better be important,” she said as she lay back in the bed.

“If it isn’t, I’ll show them the door and we’ll pick up right where we left off,” said Clark.

“That better be a promise.”

“It is,” he assured her.

This would likely be an ongoing issue. Their jobs and their work as superheroes was sure to provide plenty of interruptions. It promised to be just one of the many obstacles they would have to overcome. That didn’t make this one any less inconvenient. He had a beautiful naked woman in his bed and it took something pretty severe to keep him from her.

Clark did his best to fix his demeanor, putting on his glasses and making his way to the front door. But before he could even get there or use his X-ray vision to check who was on the other side, the door was unlocked from the other side and Lois Lane barged in.

“Sorry. Forgot I still had your spare key and you were taking _way_ too long,” she said without so much as a greeting.

“Lois? What are you…” began Clark, so surprised that he forgot that he had lent Lois his spare key.

“Something’s come up and every minute you sleep in is another minute we give to Lex Luthor. He’s already several steps ahead of us. And unless we do something about it, we’ll have no story and he’ll be old news by Monday.”

She looked like a wreck, sounding like was working on no sleep and several cups of coffee. She practically shoved Clark aside and set a heavy briefcase packed with folders on his kitchen table. She didn’t ask for permission before shoving the place mats and tablecloth aside. She just opened up the case and started laying out the contents, becoming more disheveled in the process.

“Have you been up all night?” asked Clark.

“What does it look like? Have you known me to be this much a morning person before?” Lois retorted harshly.

“No, but I…” he began, only to get cut off again.

“I’ll apologize later. I’ll even buy you lunch for the rest of the week if you help me with this because it _really_ can’t wait,” she continued, still talking in a hurried tone. “Perry has me looking for Luthor’s latest hiding place. He thinks there’s a story about where he fled and I think he’s right. But this is one time I wish I could chalk it up to growing senility.”

“Lois, I think you should…” Clark tried again, but Lois continued to ignore him.

“For some reason, he fled to Greece. Not Tahiti…not Switzerland…not some obscure island in the Pacific with no extradition laws – he fled to Greece. There has to be a reason for it. I’ve been digging into it all night, following leads and punching through dead ends. I thought I was onto something. Turns out, Luthor got the jump on me.”

“Lois please…”

“This guy, Professor Felix Foust, has been swapping info with Luthor since before the Metallo attack,” Lois went on, still ignoring Clark’s demeanor as she flipped through her materials. “We’re talking some very secretive stuff here, but not the usual Luthor variety. I would have liked to ask him about it, but he apparently skipped town. Nobody knows where he is. For all we know, he’s swimming at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean.”

“Lois, I need you to…”

“Most of the info they shared is gone. They burned or shredded most of the vital stuff, but one of the letters mentioned some ancient artifacts. We’re not talking your usual trinkets here either. This stuff might be of the mystical variety, sort of like that Zatanna woman is rumored to use. I spent all night gathering as much of Felix Foust’s materials as I could. It wasn’t easy. I think Luthor might already have most of it.”

“Lois…” said Clark, getting frustrated at this point.

“That’s why I need your help. If there’s something here worth finding, you and I can get to it before Luthor ties up any more loose ends. I’m thinking you can call some of your old contacts at the Metropolis Museum since they owe you for that…”

“Lois!” shouted Clark.

This finally silenced her. Clark rarely raised his tone around Lois. When he did, it was usually under extreme duress. Lois, who was still sleep-deprived and in a race against time, hadn’t fully processed the situation.

“I…I’m sorry, Clark. My mind is going a mile a minute here,” said Lois, now taking a moment to catch her breath.

“It’s okay. Just slow down, Lois,” said Clark in a calmer tone. “This is kind of a bad time to be dropping this on me.”

“I know. I’m an awful best friend for doing this to you on a Saturday morning. I guess I should say good morning, how are you, and…”

This time, she cut herself off. In taking a moment to address her friend and colleague, she noticed something different about Clark’s demeanor. She also noticed a few other peculiarities.

“Wait…why do I smell women’s makeup?” she asked.

“You’re still not slowing down, Lois. You’ve clearly got a lot going on. I do too. And this _really_ isn’t the best time to deal with it.”

“I’m still waiting for an explanation on the makeup,” retorted Lois.

“And I will explain it. Just not now,” said Clark as he tried helping her pack up her materials. “Is there _any_ chance at all we could talk later today? Any chance at all?”

“To hell with later!” she said in a more apprehensive tone. “Now I’m curious. What’s going on, Clark? Why do you look like you just stole the Mona Lisa?”

Lois glared at him with her penetrating gaze and Clark was in no condition to resist it. He hoped to avoid the awkward explanation of the previous night and the days that led up to it. He hadn’t even begun to come up with a cover story about how he met a woman like Diana and how they became so serious so quickly. He wasn’t ready to deal with this, but Lois wasn’t inclined to let it go.

Clark thought frantically for a way to work around this. But before he could begin to explain himself, the bedroom door opened and Diana stepped out.

“Clark? Is everything okay? I heard yelling,” she said cautiously.

When she entered the kitchen, Clark shifted as though he had just been caught on camera committing a crime. Lois was so taken aback by her voice that she dropped the handful of papers she had been holding. Her eyes widened and her mouth hung open in shock. Her line of work required her to be ready for plenty of shocking revelations, but she was definitely not prepared for this.

A strange silence filled the room. Diana, who thought his visitor had been hostile, entered the kitchen wearing nothing but a partially buttoned up dress shirt. When she saw that it was something completely different, she froze where she stood. She looked at Clark and then at his guest. Not knowing what she just stumbled into, she just smiled and greeted the other woman.

“Oh uh…hi,” said Diana, blushing awkwardly.

“Hi,” said Lois in the most coherent tone she could manage. “Clark…care to explain?”

“Um…sure,” said Clark, now smiling oddly in light of this situation. “Lois, this is Diana Prince. She’s uh…my girlfriend.”

* * *

**Olympus – Hera’s Garden**

“To the glory of Olympus and the bastards who built it!” said Hera as she raised yet another chalice of wine.

It was another solitary toast for a goddess living a solitary existence. Hera made many as she lazily lounged about her opulent garden. In this serene oasis, there was lush flora and a never-ending abundance for as far as the eye could see. The greatest wine and the sweetest fruits were completely at her disposal. Any mortal would have considered this place a paradise. But she was a goddess and she was miserable.

Looking down at her reflection in the wine, the Queen of Olympus scoffed bitterly before chugging every last drop. She had long since lost count how much wine she had consumed. She stopped keeping track centuries ago. Drunkenness was a crutch for mortals. For gods, it was a sanctuary. It was the only way to cope with the utter hypocrisy on which their rule was based.

For Hera, however, she didn’t have the luxury of hypocrisy. She was the queen. Her existence was one of duty and propriety. She had to be the pillar of order that set her apart from her fellow gods. It didn’t matter that it filled her with more disgust than pride. The other gods didn’t care. Her husband, Zeus, certainly didn’t care. They could conduct themselves however they pleased, so long as they served Zeus. But she could only ever be exactly what Zeus demanded she be. That was part of what made her the Goddess of women, marriage, and fidelity. It was an honorable role in principle. In practice, however, it was the most inglorious role on Olympus.

“Glory…bah!” she scoffed as she threw her wine chalice away. “What’s so great about glory anyways? Is that what this is about? I say it’s a joke and I’m too drunk to laugh.”

Hera let herself fall limply onto a plush lounge chair in the center of the garden. The sound of babbling streams and diverse wildlife did little to improve her mood. And lately, she had fewer and fewer reasons to be in a good mood.

Her fellow gods and the Amazons that still prayed to her remained hopelessly preoccupied with their never-ending war. According to Athena, their efforts to contain the chaos in Tartarus were not going well. Something was empowering the forces within. She didn’t bother paying attention to the details. She rarely concerned herself with such affairs, mostly because Zeus insisted that she not participate. He claimed it was to protect her, but she knew the truth. He just needed to control everything around him. It was the only way he could maintain his rule. She could care less how precarious his power might be. It wasn’t like she could do anything to change it. Her fate was annoyingly inflexible and all she could do was drink her sorrows away.

“You’re certainly looking relaxed, my Queen. It must be nice to be so unburdened during these trying times,” came a voice that interrupted her bitter solitude.

Hera groaned upon recognizing that crass tone. It could only belong to Apollo, one of her husband’s many illegitimate offspring. He had a talent for annoying her and getting away with it, taking full advantage of his role as one of Zeus’ favorite sons. She learned long ago that there wasn’t enough wine in Olympus to make any conversation with him bearable.

“What is it, Apollo?” she said bitterly. “I know you never visit unless you have an opportunity to annoy me. So state your business and leave before the wine wears off.”

“My dear queen, you wound me with your coarse words,” said Apollo, pretending to be offended.

“You’re a bastard of Zeus. You have thick skin. Now quit pretending you’re so honorable and say what you need to say.”

“You just won’t quit until you suck the fun out everything, won’t you?” he taunted.

“What else is there to do on this insipid mountain?”

Apollo shook his head in bemusement. Hera wouldn’t even make eye-contact. She continued lofting about lazily, only focusing her attention on the jug of wine she kept on the nearby table. It was her only solace at this point. It would have been so pathetic if she weren’t the queen.

“In that case, I’ll make this quick. I know you’re very busy – what with the constant sulking and endless misery,” said Apollo in an annoyingly casual tone.

“Just call me the Goddess of Spite. I’m my own temple,” muttered Hera.

“Well whenever you decide to break from your perverse piety, I have a request. You don’t have to do it. You being the all-powerful Queen of Olympus and all, this is entirely at your discretion.”

“Could you _possibly_ say that with a straight face?” she scoffed. “You carry yourself like the God of Sarcasm.”

“I’m afraid there are some feats beyond even a god’s power,” he joked, “But sarcasm aside, this is a rather serious matter. It involves your son, Ares.”

This finally got Hera’s attention. She rose up from her lazy state and cast Apollo a suspicious gaze. He still had that annoyingly crass demeanor. He looked down on her the same way he looked down on everyone, like the world existed for his own amusement and nothing more. But even he wasn’t brazen enough to broach certain topics and her son was one of them.

“And just like that, you’ve forced me to sober up sooner than I had hoped,” said Hera.

“I know this is a sore subject and one you would rather discuss while drunk, but this is an issue that affects more than your mood,” said Apollo.

“If only I could conduct all my queenly affairs while drunk,” she sighed. “It would make my role just slightly more bearable.”

“As you’re well-aware, our efforts to contain the chaos in Tartarus have been frustrating at best and fruitless at worst. The growing imbalance has proved difficult to keep up with, even for gods. Zeus has everyone on Olympus on high alert, hoping to turn the tide and prevent further losses.”

“Either get to the point or get me more wine because sobriety does little to make me give a damn,” said Hera impatiently.

“Well with this tenuous situation in mind, I think not having Ares on the battlefield is proving to be a significant detriment. He’s the God of War and this is a war we’re not winning in the slightest.”

“So pen me another Greek tragedy,” scoffed Hera. “You know what Ares did. He defied Zeus. And we all know those who defy Zeus must be subject to horrendous punishment.”

“Now who sounds like the God of Sarcasm?” quipped Apollo.

“What do you expect me to do? Weep for my son? A son who would give more love to his sword than he would ever give to his mother? You vastly overestimate my motherly instincts, Apollo.”

She spoke with utter callousness. She then retrieved another wine chalice and poured herself more wine from the jug. Apollo continued looking down at her, looking way too amused by her demeanor. Yet he remained at least partially serious. There were far more effective ways to annoy her and he had yet to really push his luck with her, as he was prone to do. That meant that on some levels, his concern was legitimate.

“You may not have much love for your son, but I hope you’re at least fond of our home. You may be miserable here on Olympus, but some of us actually want to preserve its integrity,” said Apollo.

“Integrity?” scoffed Hera. “That’s a poor choice of words for this place.”

“Be that as it may, not having Ares is only making a bad situation worse. Even Lord Zeus must understand that on some levels. I know he’s very inflexible when it comes to handing out punishments, but…”

His voice trailed off in not-so-subtle manner, expecting Hera to fill in the necessary blanks. Even in her drunken state of mind, she could see where he was going with this.

“You want me to beg my husband to change his mind,” Hera surmised.

“That’s not what I’m asking, my queen,” said Apollo, pretending to be innocent.

“But that’s what you were hoping, right? That I would go crying to Zeus, begging that he release our son from his cruel imprisonment as though that would ever change his mind.”

“Well he’s not going to listen to me, that’s for sure. He’s still somewhat miffed about that incident with the music I shared with that Canadian boy a while back. I think his name was Bieber.”

“As if that’s even your most egregious transgression,” said Hera.

“All the more reason for you to confront him about this matter,” Apollo argued. “He may love you about as much as a horse loves its tail, but he does listen to you. He might just be tempted enough to be reasonable for once.”

Hera still gave little credence to Apollo’s request. As far as she was concerned, it was more trouble than it was worth. Zeus might be more inclined to hear her out more than the other gods, but that was only out of obligation. In fact, their entire relationship was based on obligation. Even if she cared about the suffering of her war-mongering son, she doubted Zeus cared enough to reconsider.

She only pretended to consider Apollo’s request as she choked down more wine from her chalice, drinking nearly all of it in a single gulp. It added to her drunken state, making her even less inclined to listen to Apollo. That still didn’t stop him from annoying her.

“There’s one other reason I was hoping you’d talk to Zeus about this…one that I doubt he’s aware of, but could very well become a serious concern,” said Apollo, finally sounding completely serious for once.

“A concern that has escaped Zeus? Like _that_ has ever shaken the foundations of Olympus,” said Hera in a slurred tone, already pouring her chalice with more wine.

“Well this might do that quite literally. It involves Erebus, the caged Titan of Darkness.”

The Queen of Olympus dropped her chalice, spilling half-a-cup of wine in the process. The mention of a titan forced her to sober up even more. She didn’t usually concern herself with Zeus’ conflicts, but this was one that even Apollo wasn’t foolish enough to joke about.

“And just like that, more perfectly good wine has gone to waste,” she said. “What have you heard? Erebus is one of the titans Zeus took _extreme_ care to contain after the Great War.”

“Which is probably why he wouldn’t think this a major concern,” reasoned Apollo, “But I’ve heard some rumblings in the darkest depths of the underworld that the seal on the tomb housing Erebus is weakening.”

“How is that possible? I watched Zeus make that seal himself. It cannot be broken, even by him.”

“I don’t know. I only know that it’s not so impossible anymore. From what I understand, it has something about the nature of this recent chaos and the effects it has had on the balance of forces. That might just be a wild guess, but it would be consistent with the struggles we’ve been having lately. The release of a titan could be that proverbial tipping point from which even mighty Zeus cannot recover.”

Hera begrudgingly set aside the vase of wine and forced herself to contemplate the situation that Apollo described. Assuming he was being truthful, which was rarely a safe assumption, the release of a titan like Erebus could spell doom for more than just Olympus. As miserable as she was under her husband’s thumb, she still remembered the war against the titans. She knew it could be much worse if the titans were allowed to reign free once more. No god or mortal would be spared from their wrath, but the gods especially would suffer. She would rather not endure that, even if it meant serving a lousy husband.

“Exactly how bad is it on the front lines?” asked Hera, now taking this matter more seriously. “How close are we from this tipping point?”

“Not terribly close, but far too close for comfort,” answered Apollo. “Having Ares on the front lines wouldn’t solve the problem, but it would certainly help.”

“And possibly create many new problems in the process,” she retorted.

“Problems worse than a titan like Erebus being freed?”

“Point taken,” sighed the queen.

The Queen of Olympus finally arose from her drunken stupor. She took a moment to fix her hair and garb so that she looked at least somewhat regal in her current state. She avoided further eye-contact with Apollo. She could already feel his bemused gaze on her again. He took a sadistic pleasure in getting others to do things they didn’t enjoy doing. She refused to give him the satisfaction.

“So you’ll talk to him about it?” asked Apollo smugly.

“I’ll voice my concerns. Zeus will probably shoot them down in a way that will make me despise him even more, but I’ll do it anyways – even if he ends up giving me more reasons to despise him,” said Hera.

“That’s all I ask,” said Apollo, “And while you’re raising these concerns, there’s one other minor issue that I hope you’ll mention as well.”

“Does it involve a titan?” asked Hera.

“No, but it does involve…”

This time, Hera didn’t give him a chance to explain. She had entertained Apollo’s concerns enough for one day.

“Save your breath then. I can only bring myself to care so much about such matters,” said Hera. “Now go. You’ve pushed your luck enough today. Leave me to my miserable _royal_ duties.”

“As you wish, my queen,” said Apollo.

He left the Queen of Olympus to her royal misery. He didn’t even bother to make sure she was sober enough to carry on a meaningful conversation with Zeus. That didn’t really matter in the long run. It might even prove beneficial. He could always count on Hera to make everything worse with her attitude.

For the moment, everything was unfolding as planned. Apollo hid his satisfied grin as he exited Hera’s garden. He couldn’t let her know just how much she would be playing into his hands. That would ruin his enjoyment of the events sure to follow. Once the pieces began moving in the right direction, he wouldn’t have to do much else other than sit back and enjoy the show.

_‘The seeds have been planted. Hera, you embittered old hag, you’re more useful than Zeus gives you credit for. Hopefully, the fools who still worship you are just as accommodating.’_

* * *

**Metropolis – Clark’s Apartment**

Clark had been in some pretty awkward situations with women. He still vividly remembered how uncomfortable it felt when his X-ray vision first manifested during gym class in the seventh grade. Some of those awkward situations had come around Lois Lane. She had a talent for putting him in a difficult position. He didn’t usually mind because those difficulties had been productive in many respects. However, this was not one of those situations.

After Lois got done picking her jaw up off the floor, Clark managed to settle her down. Diana, not wanting to add to the awkwardness, slipped back into his bedroom. He made some coffee while she sat at his kitchen table, restless and hunched over in a dazed stupor. He did his best to explain himself, having to make up a few details on the fly. As always, he avoided complete lies. Lois was his best friend. She deserved at least the partial truth. But in this case, even part of the truth was difficult to handle.

“I’m sorry. You’ll have to back up again. I’m having a hard time connecting the dots here and for a reporter, that’s a bad sign,” said Lois, shaking her head in disbelief.

“What’s so hard about it, Lois?” asked Clark as he poured her another cup of coffee. “I reconnected with a woman I haven’t seen in years. We hit it off, we went on a date, and the date went well.”

“A little too well from the looks of it,” she said. “One date and she’s letting you into her panties…which she seemed to lose track of, by the way.”

“I hope you’re not jumping to conclusions, Lois. That’s also a bad sign for a reporter. Diana is not some woman I just hooked up with. She and I have something _special_. We didn’t plan for it to go so well last night, but it just…did.”

“That’s not the conclusion I’m jumping to, Smallville. It’s actually not too surprising that a swell-mannered farm boy from Kansas got laid last night.”

“Then why are you still so shocked? Why is me having a personal life so difficult for you to accept?” asked Clark.

“It’s not the concept that shocks me. It’s the principles behind it,” said Lois. “Now maybe I shouldn’t have reacted so strongly. The lack of sleep and my frustration with this story is probably getting to me. But I think I have a right to be more shocked than anyone after what happened earlier this week.”

She took a deep breath and sipped her coffee. She was still tense, but Lois managed to settle herself down enough to see the bigger picture. Looking over at Clark, she saw a very different man compared to last week. It wasn’t just because of the afterglow from sleeping with a beautiful woman either. Clark Kent was her best friend. He had always been a stabilizing force in her life. Seeing something like this really undermined that stability.

“Clark, for as long as I’ve known you, you’ve always been very in control of yourself,” said Lois with a rare tone of sincerity. “You carry yourself with the kind of discipline that might make my dad crack a smile. Nothing rattles you. Nothing distracts you. You’re like a rock. I can always count on you to be there and weather the storm.”

“That might be a backhanded compliment or it might be the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me,” made Clark. “In either case, please continue.”

“At the same time, you’ve always been alone. You keep to yourself, you never get too personal, and you always listen more than you talk. There are times I’ve even worried about you. In my experience, nobody lets themselves be that alone unless there’s a reason. Now I’ve never probed for that reason. That’s one story I don’t care to report. But there have been times when I do more than just worry.”

Clark could already sense what she meant. This woman was his best friend. She knew him on a personal and emotional level. For a brief time, he believed those emotions might be strong enough to make them more than best friends. Lois might have believed it as well, but it didn’t pan out. He hadn’t forgotten those feelings, making the context of this conversation more difficult.

“But those times didn’t last,” Clark pointed out.

“I know they didn’t. That doesn’t mean I stopped worrying,” said Lois as she stared distantly at her cup of coffee. “That’s not even why it struck me so hard when you say you have a girlfriend and you’re already sleeping with her.”

“And I’m sorry I didn’t prepare you for that. I shouldn’t have been keeping secrets, especially from my best friend.”

“Don’t apologize for having a personal life, Clark. Just because I’m your friend doesn’t mean you need to share every intimate detail with me. What really worried me is why you avoided having a personal life in the first place. You always went out of your way to avoid getting too close to anybody. Sometimes you even went the extra mile, making sure you didn’t get too entangled with anybody…no matter how many opportunities you had.”

There was a distinct subtext in her tone, hinting that he had his share of opportunities with her. Lois didn’t make it too obvious, but the meaning was clear. However, this didn’t seem to bother her as much as other personal concerns.

“I always suspected that you had a bad experience in your personal life at one point – something so bad that it kept you from taking a chance on anyone,” Lois went on. “I didn’t want to pry. It was none of my business. Now that I’ve had it shoved in my face, I’m kind of dumbstruck.”

“Believe me, I didn’t mean for you to find out this way,” said Clark. “This was the last possible way I wanted it to happen.”

“Well it happened and now I have to deal with it. But maybe it’s better this way because it puts your perpetual _unavailability_ in a new light.”

Lois finally looked up from her cup of coffee and smiled for the first time since she arrived. It was still awkward for Clark, but it helped ease some of his concerns. He still had to be careful. He still could only give Lois a part of the truth, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t give her the parts that mattered most.

“This woman you _reconnected_ with – she’s the reason, isn’t she?” said Lois, having made the necessary connections.

“She’s the reason for a lot of things, Lois. You’ll have to be more specific,” said Clark.

“You said you met her years ago before you even came to Metropolis. You didn’t give a whole lot of specifics, but the way you talked about her made two things pretty obvious. You _really_ fell for her and it ended _really_ badly.”

“Yeah, that would sum it up in the most basic way possible,” said Clark. “She had family issues that I’ve got no business talking about. The way we parted ways – I guess it affected me more than I let on.”

“And by some crazy twist of fate, you cross paths with her again while going after my Red Cross story. I would call that an obscene coincidence if the way I met Jonathan wasn’t so similar.”

Clark breathed a subtle sigh of relief. He had been worried that Lois might probe too deeply into the part about him meeting Diana while investigating her story about the Red Cross. She might start drawing conclusions about Wonder Woman, Diana Prince, and Superman. She didn’t appear to make those connections, focusing only on those involving Clark Kent. That ensured he wouldn’t have to come up with a more elaborate explanation.

“It’s funny how things work out sometimes,” said Clark.

“I know. But we’re reporters. We report on crazy coincidences all the time. It shouldn’t shock us this much,” said Lois.

“And yet, here we are,” he pointed out.

“And I’m still having problems wrapping my head around it. The idea of you – Clark Kent, the constantly detached yet always reliable friend – being in a real relationship is going to take some getting used to.”

“Well if it makes you feel better, I’m still getting used to it as well. It’s been so long since I’ve been with anybody and things with Diana are happening so fast.”

“Knowing how careful you are with everything you do, she must be pretty damn special,” said Lois.

“She is,” said Clark, who couldn’t stop himself from grinning.

Lois again shook her head in amazement. Seeing Clark Kent with that smitten expression on his face was still pretty jarring, but she was starting to accept it. He actually looked happy and relaxed, bearing the demeanor of a man in love and a man who just got laid. She hadn’t seen this side of him before. Maybe it was wrong of her to think he would always be this quiet farm boy whose life revolved around work and travel. She didn’t know much about Diana, but she had to be good for him on some levels to make him this happy.

The tension finally faded as the situation sank in. Lois finished the rest of her coffee and set her mug aside. She remained restless, but not for the same reasons as before. She and Clark now had an understanding. It didn’t happen in as smooth a way as they would have preferred, but the hardest part of this awkward ordeal was over. There were enough difficult issues to deal with at the moment. Getting through this gave them one less thing to worry about.

As the overall mood became calmer, the door to Clark’s bedroom opened again and Diana stepped out. This time, she wore one of Clark’s T-shirts and approached with a much friendlier demeanor.

“Hey,” she greeted. “Is everything okay in here? It got a lot quieter and I didn’t know if that was a good sign.”

“It is,” said Lois, getting up from the table to greet her. “Sorry I made such a spectacle earlier. I forgot that some people don’t expect friends to barge in this early on a Saturday morning.”

“It’s alright. We were bound to meet at some point,” said Diana with a touch of humor.

“In that case, I might as well introduce myself under these less embarrassing conditions. I’m Lois Lane, Clark’s best friend and mentor in all things not related to farm animals,” said Lois, extending her hand to the other woman.

“Pleased to meet you, Lois,” said Diana, accepting the gesture. “Clark has already told me so much about you.”

“That leaves me at a huge disadvantage because he never told me about you. Most men wouldn’t shut up about some pretty girl they met in their youth.”

“Well Clark Kent isn’t most men.”

“No argument here, but I’m sure you know that better than any woman right now,” teased Lois.

“I’d say that’s a fair statement.”

Now Clark was embarrassed again, but for an entirely different reason. At least the two of them were getting along despite the awkward circumstances. It came as a relief, knowing his girlfriend and his best friend could be friendly with one another. However, it appeared they might be too friendly in some respects.

“By the way, I borrowed one of your shirts, Clark. I hope you don’t mind,” said Diana.

“Not at all,” assured Clark, trying to hide his embarrassment. “It looks better on you anyways.”

“And at least you’re wearing panties this time,” said Lois under her breath.

“If you two have more to discuss, I’ll be happy to leave,” she offered.

“Are you kidding? That would make me the worst person in the world, making my friend’s girlfriend leave before they’ve had a chance to enjoy the morning afterglow,” said Lois as she turned around to gather her materials.

“Are you sure?” asked Diana. “You sounded quite urgent when you arrived.”

“That’s because I’ve had too much caffeine and hit too many dead ends. There’s not much more to discuss anyways. So ahead and keep rocking that shirt. I’ll kick myself out and catch up with Clark later.”

“Anything I should work on in the meantime?” asked Clark. “You did say this involved Lex Luthor and time was a factor.”

“And for that very reason, there’s not much work to do,” said Lois. “I think time has already run out. The best thing I can do is catalog everything I’ve found out and wait for something else to break. And the best thing you can do is tend to this wonderful woman who makes even a dirty polo shirt look sexy.”

She had made up her mind and nobody could change it. She made that abundantly clear as she picked up the briefcase and left Clark’s apartment. She didn’t give Clark a chance to dissuade her and she didn’t tell him anything about this story that would get him too curious. Lois might have been incredibly dedicated when it came to pursuing a story, but she understood when personal affairs took priority over work.

“I like her,” said Diana with a grin.

“I had a feeling you two would get along,” said Clark. “I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before you two start conspiring against me.”

“Oh Kal, you know I don’t need anyone’s help to conspire against you.”

“Is that a warning or an invitation?” he joked.

“It’s exactly what you think it is.”

Diana helped ease the lingering tension, walking up to him and pulling him back into her loving embrace. He still had an empty coffee up in his hand as she gave him a loving kiss, throwing in a few tempting gestures to get him back into the same spirit as earlier. It worked even better than expected. There were still plenty of lingering feelings from the previous night to enjoy.

“Now then…what do you say you take Lois’ advice and tend to your lover?” said Diana in a seductive tone.

“And how do you propose I do that?” asked Clark, already very intrigued.

“Well I was thinking we could start the morning with a nice hot shower…together.”

“Together, you say?” he said with a widening grin. “I like that idea, although it might get a little _confined_.”

“We’ll work around that. And after that – well, let’s just play it by ear.”

Not needing any more convincing, Clark set his empty coffee mug aside and followed Diana back into his bedroom. She affectionately latched onto his arms, throwing in a few more tempting gestures along the way. The morning had encountered some unexpected complications, but it was already panning out in all the right ways. It boded well for their new relationship and for future mornings together.

* * *

**Themyscira – Gymnasium**

The collective spirits of the Amazons had seen better days. Morale among the Olympus’ greatest warriors had not been the same since the departure of their sister and princess, Diana. For many, it was an unfortunate decision that brought great sorrow to those who loved and respected her. But for some, it was an act of betrayal.

After convincing them that she had atoned for her transgressions as a teenager, Diana continued defying the Amazon Code, seeking to connect with man’s world rather than maintain the bonds of sisterhood. It was a harsh and bitter pill to swallow, their princess choosing man’s world over her fellow Amazons. But Diana had made her decision and it could not be unmade.

Of all the Amazons it affected, Hippolyta was hit hardest. She was not the same woman without her daughter. Her style of rule was noticeably different. She carried herself with a cold, stoic demeanor, hiding her sadness under the guise of a stern and unflinching queen. Few Amazons let themselves worry about their queen. They had enough to deal with between the chaos in Tartarus and the growing inability of the gods to contain it. But Aleka, who remained Hippolyta’s most loyal sister through these trying times, did allow herself to worry. And her worry had only grown in recent times.

Those worries often manifested whenever she trained, coming out in the form of greater aggression and simmering anger. For that reason, Aleka often trained alone in the gymnasium and most of her sisters knew not to bother her. This particular part of day, between chores and training, was her preferred time. She didn’t do anything too elaborate, focusing primarily on sword techniques and attack stances. For her, training and combat wasn’t just a duty. It was an outlet for this burning animosity that she could not confront.

“Honor…duty…compassion…valor…glory…and sisterhood,” Aleka grunted in between attacks.

These words were all spoken by Amazons while training, often in perfect unison to demonstrate the harmony with which they fought. It was part of what helped make them the greatest warriors in the world. But there was one word they didn’t say that Aleka valued above all others.

“Loyalty,” she said with a force that would have subdued a titan.

The imposing Amazon halted her motions for a moment, but remained in an attack stance, ready to slay any creature that dared to test her. Saying this word out loud filled Aleka with many intense emotions, most of which she kept to herself. But as the months went by and the battles became more arduous, she found it increasingly difficult to keep them contained.

“What good is any warrior code without loyalty?” said Aleka bitterly.

Every time she asked herself this question, Diana came to mind. Since her exile, every memory of her became more vivid. Every battle they fought and every day they trained took on a different meaning. She was the princess. She was supposed to be the champion of the Amazon Code. But she abandoned it and her sisters. With every day that passed, this selfish act became more and more egregious.

“Does anyone care about loyalty anymore?” she exclaimed.

In her fit of rage, Aleka threw her sword across the gymnasium. She threw it with such force that it should have easily lodged itself permanently within the stone walls. But to her surprise, somebody caught it and did so with extraordinary ease.

“Is that a rhetorical question?” said a bemused voice, “Because we stopped asking that question centuries ago.”

Knowing no ordinary mortal or Amazon for that matter could accomplish such a feat, Aleka took a defensive stance and turned towards the voice. She was apprehensively at first, but her poise eased the moment she recognized the source of the voice.

“Lord Apollo,” gasped Aleka. “To what do I owe your divine presence?”

The imposing Amazon instinctively bowed, her tense demeanor shifting instantly in the presence of a god.

“Please, there’s no need for such formality,” said Apollo as he casually twirled the sword in his hand. “This is a decidedly informal visit for what I hope to be a truly menial issue.”

“It is an honor and a privilege to serve a direct request from a god,” said Aleka respectfully, “But if I would be so bold to ask – why did you come to me?”

“Well why not?” shrugged Apollo.

“I am just an acolyte. Surely, a task from a god is better served by Queen Hippolyta or a priestess.”

“For a warrior of your reputation, your humility is astounding, Aleka. And under normal circumstances, that’s exactly what I would do. But Queen Hippolyta and her ranking associates have been preoccupied lately and not just with her regal affairs.”

“I…cannot comment on such affairs. It is not my place to do so,” said Aleka.

“You need not be subtle. I’m not the only god on Olympus who has noticed a change in Hippolyta over the past year. It is truly tragic…the turmoil she has endured. But she continues to rule with heart and spirit.”

“She is and always will be dedicated to her crown.”

“I know she will. And perhaps that’s all the more reason to give this task to you. I’d rather not burden Hippolyta more than she deserves. Since this matter involves Diana, I think it would be too strenuous on her heart,” said Apollo.

Aleka cringed with anger upon hearing that name. She hid it as best she could in the presence of a god. Had anyone else dared say that name around her, she wouldn’t have hesitated to rip their vocal chords out. She managed to restrain herself and stood willing to accommodate the wishes of the gods.

“I understand, Lord Apollo,” said Aleka. “What is it that you need of me? Be confident in the utmost that I will carry it out fully.”

“I know that you will,” said Apollo smugly. “It has to do with this strange anomaly I noticed with Diana. As you know, whenever an Amazon is exiled from Themyscira, she forfeits her immortality and is doomed to age naturally like any ordinary woman. However, that doesn’t appear to be happening with Diana.”

“Forgive my ignorance, but isn’t it too soon for her to age? She has only been in exile for a year.”

“To an immortal, a year is nothing. But to a mortal, a year is plenty of time to show at least some signs of aging. I assumed as such when I took it upon myself to do a quick survey of life energies in the mortal world. With so many more beings wielding god-like powers running around, Zeus deems it necessary to monitor such beings occasionally. But the life energy emanating from Diana contained some _anomalies_.”

“If I may ask, what kind of anomalies?” asked Aleka with growing curiosity.

“I’m not sure and I’ve neither the time nor the resources to figure it out,” said Apollo. “Zeus has been running a much tighter ship on Olympus amidst the growing chaos. I thought it would be improper to bring this matter up during these trying times, especially since it might end up being insignificant. That is why I am asking you – a loyal and dedicated servant of the gods – to investigate this issue more thoroughly.”

It still came off as an odd request. The gods usually didn’t come to the Amazons for tasks such as this. Their primary focus had always been combat and sisterhood. Never-the-less, Aleka had no inclination to question the will of a god. At the same time, however, she was very much intrigued.

As angry as Aleka felt towards Diana, anything involving her was bound to affect Queen Hippolyta and the Amazons by default. So far, she had done nothing in man’s world to undermine the sanctity of Themyscira or the Amazons. They knew she was still alive. She had probably created a new life for herself, as all exiled Amazons did. But if this anomaly, as Apollo called it, turned out to be something significant, then it was bound to affect them all. It may even end up giving her more reason to despise her former princess.

“You can count on me, Lord Apollo,” vowed Aleka. “I will leave no stone unturned. I will uncover whatever is behind this anomaly.”

“I know you will. You are as loyal an Amazon as they come. Believe me when I say that is a refreshing quality, especially among immortals,” said Apollo.

“Some of us still believe in such values. I am among them,” said Aleka proudly.

“Which is why I trust you’ll do what needs to be done with the utmost discretion,” he said. “Now I must warn you, this process will be somewhat tedious. It’s going to take time to get the answers we seek.”

“I will work for however long I must. And I will do so as discretely as necessary.”

“I also cannot promise I’ll be able to respond to your prayers at a moment’s notice,” added Apollo. “I must work under the assumption that Lord Zeus will keep every Olympian on high alert for the foreseeable future. So if I am unavailable, please take your findings to Queen Hippolyta.”

“It will be done, my Lord. You have my word as an Amazon.”

The imposing Amazon bowed respectfully. Apollo just nodded, acknowledging her vow and accepting it as a promise to the gods. Aleka didn’t hesitate for a moment to begin honoring this promise. She left the gymnasium immediately with every intention of carrying out this task to the fullest. It had been a long time since she had received a direct request from a god. This was her chance to prove her loyalty to the Amazon Code, something their own princess failed to do. She was not going to make light of this opportunity.

Apollo sensed the extent of her motivation. He didn’t need his godly abilities to see it. The moment he uttered Diana’s name, Aleka reacted strongly. She was among the Amazons who refused to forgive the princess for abandoning them. That would only work to his advantage in the long run.

“Ah loyalty…the most pathetic and useful of all morals. It’s almost too easy to enjoy,” said Apollo, shaking his head in bemusement.

Still holding the sword he caught from Aleka, the Olympian laughed to himself as he casually tossed it across the room. This was the most tedious part of the plan, but it was also the part where he and Ares had to put in the least amount of effort. As any god of worth knew, the best plans weren’t measured by the result of bold ambition, extreme toil, or glorious achievements. They were measured by how much could be accomplished by getting others to do the work for them.

“Now comes my least favorite part of any plan…waiting,” sighed Apollo. “Guess just means I’ll just have to take extra satisfaction in seeing how this plays out.”

* * *

**Metropolis – Daily Planet Rooftop**

It had been an eventful morning for Clark and Diana to say the least. After Lois’ unexpected visit, they went back to the less daunting challenges of their new relationship. Taking a nice relaxing shower together certainly helped get things back on track. It helped even more when that shower turned into some early morning lovemaking, both within the shower itself and on the bathroom sink. Between the events of last night and the years of complicated emotions, Clark and Diana had plenty of reasons to embrace this new relationship and put in the effort to make it work.

After cleaning themselves up, venting more passion in the process, things settled. Clark made some breakfast and Diana continued lounging around in Clark’s old T-shirt. They didn’t talk about Lois or the events of the previous night. They were content to keep things casual after all the recent emotional upheavals. But sooner or later, they would have to have a serious discussion about the future. They made it abundantly clear through their passions that they wanted to be lovers. Now they had to go about making it work.

After spending the morning like a normal couple after a date, they donned their less traditional attire and went on a brief flight around Metropolis as Superman and Wonder Woman. The crisp morning air helped to further clear their minds. It was also a new experience, being able to fly alongside someone. It highlighted another unique aspect of their new relationship. It wasn’t just Clark Kent and Diana Prince who would be dating. Superman and Wonder Woman would be dating as well. They would have lives in and out of costume to share. They didn’t just have jobs and civilian lives. They had duties and responsibilities as heroes. They had to somehow find a way to fit this into their new relationship.

This new challenge eventually led them to the roof of the Daily Planet. It offered one of the best views in Metropolis. It often helped Clark maintain perspective in doing what he did, both in and out of costume. Now standing next to Diana, holding her hand as they looked out over the city, his perspective changed a great deal. It would have to expand to make room for this amazing woman, carrying with it a great many risks and far greater rewards.

“What a beautiful view,” commented Diana as she looked out over the city, “High enough to look so peaceful yet low enough to feel the rhythm of all the life below.”

“It certainly is beautiful,” said Clark distantly. “It’s important to remind ourselves of how beautiful this world can be. Certain parts might make it feel ugly, but those parts will always be small in scale and even smaller in scope.”

“In that sense, the scale of my world was painfully small for most of my life. Living on an island and fighting on the battlefields of Tartarus made it very difficult to appreciate such beauty.”

“But you still do,” Clark pointed out.

“Only because I’ve had the strength, the will, and the inspiration to do so,” she replied, “And you’re a big part of that, Kal.”

“Well now I’m going to be an even bigger part. If we’re going to be serious about having a relationship – a real, honest, genuine relationship – we have to be part of each other’s world.”

Diana turned away from the view and towards her new lover. She had a feeling this conversation would happen at some point. They already had confronted it in a very passionate manner. Now they had to confront it in a more reasonable manner. It wasn’t nearly as overwhelming as the emotional outpouring from the previous night, but it was still every bit as daunting.

“We’ve both built pretty complicated lives on our own,” Clark went on. “I have my civilian life as Clark Kent. I have my superhero life as Superman. You also have your life as Diana Prince. You now have a superhero life as Wonder Woman.”

“Not to mention the life of an exiled princess, but I see what you’re getting at,” she added.

“Then I don’t have to explain how difficult it’ll be to build a relationship around that. From a purely pragmatic perspective, we could keep things casual. We could be lovers, keeping each other company when we want it and making love when we need it. But I don’t want this to be casual.”

“Neither do I,” said Diana. “It just wouldn’t be right, given all that we’ve been through.”

“Then we’re on the same page in terms of what we want. But in terms of going about getting it – this is where it gets murky. I live in Metropolis and have a career with the Dailey Planet. You live in London and have a career with the Red Cross. Sometimes, my work as Superman takes me off this world. And at some point, your life as Wonder Woman will take you places I can’t go.”

“You list these things as though they were obstacles.”

“But they’re not obstacles. They’re our _lives_ ,” said Clark strongly, “And they’re good lives. We should be seeking ways to make them better and more fulfilling.”

“And you think fitting a relationship into those lives would somehow undermine that?”

“No, that’s not what I’m getting at. I guess what I’m trying to say is – I really have no idea how to go about this.”

Once again, Clark willingly made himself vulnerable in ways he once never dared. This time, he did it without reservation. Diana wasn’t just a pretty girl who went on a date with him. He felt a connection with this woman that made him want to be with her. They had already shared plenty of physical intimacy, but it felt like they were capable of sharing more.

“I spent the last few years keeping my life insulated,” he continued, “I avoided anyone and anything that could possibly complicate it. And sometimes that life makes it hard to admire the greater beauty in the world.”

“I know what you mean,” said Diana. “I did the same when I first left Themyscira. I had to insulate myself from a world that everyone told me was so ugly and hostile. It took time for me to see just how beautiful it could be.”

“But I don’t want to live like that anymore…not when my feelings for you are so strong,” said Clark.

“I don’t want to live like that either. I want to live a better life and I want you to be part of that life.”

“Then I guess that means we’re both woefully ill-equipped to pursue a relationship at the moment. But that doesn’t mean we can’t make it work. And believe me, I want to make it work.”

He took both her hands in his, communicating to her his desire and dedication to being the lover he needed to be for her. It made Diana vulnerable once again as well. She still wasn’t used to such a feeling. Her Amazon instincts still dissuaded her, but her heart urged her forward.

She ended up calming his reservations about the challenge before them. She smiled and placed her hand over his, communicating all these feelings that she didn’t fully understand. In seeing this man’s dedication, Diana saw a new kind of beauty that no Amazon had ever witnessed. Standing before her was a man who, despite everything she had been led to believe about his kind, was capable of great compassion and love. She had seen so many instances during her work with the Red Cross. Now she was actually living it, which in turn put the idea of sharing a life into a new context.

“Kal, you don’t need to convince me of your sincerity. You’ve already done that in so many different ways, going all the way back to the day we first met,” said Diana with a heartfelt smile.

“Well it’s a point something worth reinforcing,” said Clark, now smiling back.

“I don’t disagree, but I also think you’re focusing too much on the challenges and not on the opportunities. I know you’ll put in the necessary effort. I’ve every intention of doing the same. But before we start _making_ this relationship happen, why don’t we start by just _letting_ it happen?”

She made it sound so reasonable yet so loving. It also helped that she moved in closer, allowing her warm presence to mix with his. Clark had a habit of overthinking a situation, but Diana had a knack for reminding him what felt right.

“Neither of us expected things to happen the way they did. I don’t think anybody really intends to fall in love,” she continued. “Our hearts have led us through plenty of difficult circumstances. I say let’s keep following them and see where it leads us.”

“You make it sound so simple,” said Clark, already lost in her gaze.

“Well why can’t it be simple? I’m in love with you. You’re in love with me. Let’s just start there and see where it leads us.”

True to her words, Diana followed the whims of her heart, which led to another soft kiss. Clark followed her lead, kissing back and embracing her approach. In this simple act of affection, the many complications that lay before them felt less overwhelming. They may not have felt equipped, but they still had everything they needed to make this relationship as special as it deserved to be.

Under the warm midday sun and with the scenic view of the Metropolis skyline surrounding them, the foundation for Clark and Diana’s love had been laid. There was so much to explore and so much to build on. They had no idea where it would lead them, but they were now prepared to face all these new challenges together.

* * *

**Olympus – Ares’ Containment Cell**

There was little joy to be had while imprisoned in this endless abyss. Even a god was rendered powerless in the face of such isolation. That didn’t stop the God of War from keeping up with his war plans. It also didn’t stop him from taking a perverse pleasure in watching it come together even better than he anticipated.

Despite his limited power, he was able to form small vision portals within his cell. This allowed him to track each step of his battle plan. He recently confirmed that Apollo was still doing his part. Now Aleka was poised to do hers while Lex Luthor did his. The key to making it work was timing, which would prove to be a challenge. He also expected Diana to be a challenge after the role she played in the Metallo plot. He had even been concerned that she might pose a legitimate threat to his war.

However, the vision he saw of her and Superman fundamentally changed her capacity to affect this battle. Her being in love with Superman gave him the perfect weapon with which to contain her. It also gave him the perfect means of showing the consequences for defying the God of War.

“Princess Diana, you poor, pathetic fool,” sighed Ares. “You’ve just made this infinitely harder for yourself and infinitely more satisfying for me.”

* * *

**Up next: Broken Dreams**


	11. Broken Dreams

**Strangers In Paradise**   
**Chapter 11: Broken Dreams**

**AN: This chapter takes place six months after the previous chapter.**

* * *

**Unknown**

It was everywhere. Death, destruction, and despair lay strewn over a vast wasteland that stretched as far as the eye could see. The land had been blackened, purged of all traces of life and civilizations. Trees stood broken or dying while Rivers flowed with blood. Dark clouds covered the sky, echoing with thunder as dry winds swept across the landscape. And in the center of all this death stood Diana, surrounded by the dead bodies of her sisters and countless innocents.

“By the gods…” she cried. “My sisters…my home…all these people…what happened?”

“Not what, Diana…who,” said a powerful voice.

She turned around, looking for the source of this voice. She saw nothing but clouds of swirling sands hovering over more dead bodies. Despite such horrors, Diana stood ready to fight it until her dying breath. This unspeakable atrocity would not go unpunished. She would find those responsible and make them pay. It didn’t matter if they were man or god, she would make them pay.

“Who are you? Show yourself!” demanded Diana.

“Such anger and vitriol,” said the voice. “It’s hard to believe such spirit was born from an Amazon warrior. Now look at you. You’re no warrior. You’re just a brat throwing a tantrum.”

With burning rage, Diana followed the voice through the swirling sands. She didn’t get far before being blinded by sharp gusts carrying thick dust. She kept trying to push forward, but the voice only laughed. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t locate the source of this voice. It was like chasing a ghost and with every step she took, she had to wade through more dead bodies and more desolation.

All these horrors tempered even the rage of an Amazon warrior. As she stepped over the bodies, she began to recognize a few. She saw the bodies of Aleka and Hessia, their flesh burned and their faces frozen in permanent agony. She also saw the bodies of the men, women, and children she had helped over the years working for the Red Cross. They all had a similar look, their eyes wide open and their expression wrought with pain. They hadn’t just been slaughtered. They had been tormented without mercy.

It sickened Diana to the point where she couldn’t push forward. She ended up falling to her knees, her anger giving way to sorrow. She kept trying to fight through. That’s when she realized something even more horrifying.

“My hands…” she said, her rage giving way to more shock.

“Took you long enough,” laughed the voice.

The Amazon princess trembled as she shook her head in disbelief. Her hands were drenched with blood. Diana tried to wipe it off, but it was no use. They remained covered and stained. What made it all the more sickening was that she recognized this blood. It didn’t belong to just anybody. It had the feel of those she loved and cherished. At first she refused to believe her senses. Then she got confirmation of the worst kind.

As the blood dripped from her hands, she noticed it falling upon the face of a female body that had just been recently killed. Like the others, traces of an agonizing death remained etched on her face. But unlike the others, this face belonged to her mother. When she saw her face, Diana stopped struggling and fell to her knees in despair.

“No…mother,” she sobbed.

“She fought valiantly. They all fought valiantly. But in the end, they all succumbed,” said the voice, “They succumbed because of decisions _you_ made. Their deaths were _your_ own doing.”

Diana kept shaking her head, fighting off tears of sorrow that rapidly filled her eyes. She refused to believe it. This couldn’t be happening. Her mother, her sisters, and all these innocents – slaughtered and maimed. It couldn’t be her fault. It just couldn’t. She would never let this happen.

When she finally opened her eyes to wipe away the tears, she finally saw the source of the voice. It now stood over her, an imposing shadowy figure that had the poise of a titan and the demeanor of a god. She couldn’t see a face or even tell if the figure was male or female. But whoever it was, he or she looked down on her like a wounded animal about to be slaughtered. The power that fueled the darkness and desolation appeared to be coming directly from this figure, but she was the one who unleashed it.

“This…this cannot be. I didn’t…I wouldn’t!” stammered Diana, struggling to speak under the weight of her sorrow.

“But you did,” said the figure, “And the ones you loved most were the ones that suffered the most. See for yourself.”

The figure then stepped closer and revealed to her another fallen loved one. This time it was Kal-El, his neck snapped and his body battered beyond recognition. The figure held him up with a lasso wrapped around his neck like a noose. His eyes had the same deathly stare as her mother. His blood, like her mother’s, was also on her hands. It was too much for Diana to process at this point. She closed her eyes and shook her head again, refusing to believe any of this was real.

“Kal…gods have mercy, please! Not him!” she cried.

“It’s a pity. He suffered the most, but he didn’t have to. If only you hadn’t been so pathetic and weak,” taunted the figure.

“Stop! Enough of this,” sobbed Diana, “No more…I can’t take anymore.”

“It’s too late, Diana. You failed. You are defeated and you’ve no one but yourself to blame. Now accept your defeat! Even if the gods could show mercy, you would not deserve it.”

She kept trying to shut it out, the menacing voice and the overwhelming sorrow. But it was no use. It now felt like it was coming from all directions, surrounding her and subduing her. Her strength failed her and she fell to her hands and knees. Then the horror escalated even more when the dead bodies around her came to life again, beginning with her mother and quickly spreading to each body in this deathly landscape.

“Diana…you selfish brat,” hissed the body of Hippolyta, “You let your own mother die.”

“You let us all die,” hissed the body of Hessia.

“Mother…sisters…Kal…I’m so sorry,” said Diana weakly.

“Your tears are not enough,” hissed her mother’s deathly form, “Come with us. Descend to the pits of Hades where you belong! Face the torment you’ve justly earned!”

Their vengeful cries echoed throughout the wasteland as they all crawled towards her and grasped her with their cold hands. Diana attempted to fight them off at first, but it was no use. Her strength was gone. Her spirit was broken. She could do nothing as they pulled her down into the underworld with them.

“No…no…NOOOOOOOO!”

* * *

**Metropolis – Clark’s Apartment**

Diana gasped as she emerged from the horror. Her eyes shot open and she rose up, short of breath and covered in a cold sweat. The sights and smells of death and destruction were gone. She was back in the comfortable surroundings of Clark Kent’s apartment. As her senses caught up with her feelings of dread, she realized she was safely in her lover’s bed. Kal was sleeping peacefully next to her, alive and unharmed. As soon as she felt his warmth, she steadied her breathing and allowed her strength to return to her.

“A dream – it was only a dream,” said Diana as she caught her breath.

Telling herself this didn’t make it feel any less overwhelming. The echoes of her mother’s voice and the dark figure she encountered still reverberated in her head. It felt so vivid and real. No dream should feel this real. Even as the terror subsided, its effects lingered.

Now sitting up in the bed, Diana looked around the room and recalled what led her to this point. The clock on the dresser read a few minutes past three. It was still dark outside and the rain that started yesterday afternoon was still pouring. She remembered meeting Kal after work for dinner. They then returned to his apartment, opened a bottle of wine she bought over from France, and watched a movie together.

Afterwards, they started talking. One thing led to another and the next thing she knew, they were making their way to his bedroom. Somewhere between the door and the bed, their clothes came off and were now strewn messily over the floor. She then followed him under the soft sheets and they made love in the heated, passionate manner they had come to enjoy so much over these past six months. They wore each other out as they so often did and she fell asleep peacefully in his arms. Unfortunately, her sleep didn’t stay peaceful.

Still clutching the sheets, Diana looked over at her lover. Like her, he was still naked. In addition to his bed and his passions, he had shared so much with her since they came together. He went above and beyond as only Superman could, welcoming her into his world and making her a part of his life. He always found a way to make time for her, visiting her on her good days and her bad days. He introduced her to his friends and co-workers at the Daily Planet. He even welcomed her to his Fortress of Solitude at the North Pole, something he hadn’t done for anyone else.

Kal-El’s love for her was beyond dispute and Diana’s love for him only grew. Being around him, both as Diana Prince and as Wonder Woman, filled her with such joy. But it was not lost on her that in every Greek tragedy, the greatest of joys often preceded the greatest of sorrows.

_‘Oh Kal…you give me so much love. You open your heart, your soul, and your bed to me. And the more I embrace you, the more I love you.’_

Diana laid back down on the bed, pulling the sheets up over her and her naked lover. She then curled up next to him, getting close enough to feel his loving warmth. She affectionately traced her hand over the contours of his chest, drawing from him the strength that had done so much to enrich her life.

_‘You’ll go from fighting Toyman to taking a romantic stroll on the moon without breaking a sweat. You’ve made me such an important part of your life. I’ve made you part of mine, but only to a point.’_

Her life had so many unresolved conflicts and these nightmares served as a constant reminder. This wasn’t the first time she had experienced such nightmares, but this was by far the most vivid to date. While they varied in terms of content and scope, they always had the same theme. She would be surrounded by destruction, her home and her family decimated by forces she couldn’t identify. Sometimes she would try to fight back, but no matter what she did, she always succumbed.

It was a disturbing notion, an Amazon warrior succumbing under the weight of defeat. It was an act every Amazon had been conditioned avoid. No matter what happened, they kept on fighting. Being with Kal and establishing herself as Wonder Woman further strengthened her resolve. But no matter how strong she felt, she could not escape the inherent complications of an exiled Amazon princess.

_‘No matter how fulfilling my life is in man’s world, I can never forget my life back on Themyscira. It’s my home. My mother, my sisters, my heritage – so much of it still there and I cannot share it with you. I can’t even go back without causing more conflict. I can’t forget about it either.’_

This was the lingering burden on her soul that continued to plague her, even as she built a happy and fulfilling life with Kal. She was still an exile. All the battles, hardships, and conflicts on Themyscira would continue, regardless of her life in man’s world. She had no idea if things had gotten better or worse since she left. Her gut told her that the battles within Tartarus had not gotten any easier. At some point she would have to confront them and these nightmares gave her the sense that if she didn’t, they would find a way to confront her in the worst possible way.

As she contemplated this burden, she felt Kal rouse from his slumber and shift. He was usually a heavy sleeper after a night of lovemaking, but he had become quite adept at picking up on her distress, no matter how tired he was. Still in a drowsy state, he instinctively wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in closer. It helped further ease her distress, but only to a point.

“Hey…you okay?” asked Kal, his eyes still closed.

“I’m fine. Just a bad dream, that’s all,” said Diana softly.

“Anything I can do?”

“You’re already doing it,” she told him. “Go back to sleep, Kal.”

“Mmkay...love you,” he said with a yawn.

“I love you too.”

Diana gave him a light peck on the cheek, evoking a soft moan of contentment. With his arm now firmly secure around her waist, she curled up even closer and rested her head on his chest. This allowed her to hear his steady breathing and the soft beating of his heart.

It gave her such comfort, being so entwined with this man. Their love had become so strong, but at some point the complications of her life were going to test that love. She had faith that they could overcome. However, this might be one of those battles she needed to confront on her own before she put her lover in the line of fire. Any conflict involving Themyscira and the gods was bound to get volatile in unpredictable ways.

* * *

**Underworld – Palace of Hades**

“What an honor it is to be Queen of the Dead,” said a solemn voice from the halls of Hades’ palace. “To have dominion over such a vast realm, yet have none on my own immortal life…a truly honorable title indeed.”

Persephone’s quiet lament fell on deaf ears, as it always did. Standing in the royal chamber in the highest keep of Hades’ palace, she had the best possible view of the joyless wasteland below. There wasn’t much to see. The River Styx and the vast fields of death made for a quiet, desolate realm where the souls of the dead faded to oblivion. Her mother, Demeter, taught her that realm domain was necessary in order to balance the primordial forces between Olympus and the mortal world. That didn’t make it any less pleasant.

Being the Queen of the Underworld and the wife of Hades, she was obligated to reside in this realm for extended periods. It was part of the arrangement that Hades had set up through a mix of cunning, treachery, and negotiations amongst his fellow gods. Persephone would rule by his side for six months out of the year. Then for the other six, she would return to visit her mother on Olympus. Those times were supposed to be joyous, nourishing the natural forces of fertility and harvest. But no matter how joyous they were, such feelings were fleeting.

Over the centuries, it took a greater toll on Persephone. Her once vibrant spirit became hardened. Her ability to feel contentment of any kind, even in the presence of her mother, had weakened. It had gotten to the point where the darkness of this realm had tainted her very soul. Hades, being as devoted as any god could, made sure she was comfortable in his palace. But there was only so much comfort to be had in the underworld. She would always be shackled by the will of the gods, her destiny dictated by forces beyond her control. There was nothing she could do about it overtly. However, that didn’t mean she couldn’t do something _covertly_.

“Eternal youth and divine beauty are so overrated,” she sighed, pretending she could actually converse with the souls of the dead. “I know this means little to the deceased and the disembodied, but you’re the lucky ones. At some point, your toil ends. Mine remains bound to a destiny I did not choose.”

“Oh cry me a river, Your Highness. Sympathy is every bit as overrated.”

Persephone was shocked to hear a response, but the shock wore off when she turned around to see that it came from Hera. She would have preferred a response from the dead. The Queen of Olympus rarely visited the underworld and when she did, it was never to deliver good news.

“Queen Hera, the underworld welcomes you. It’s always _such_ a pleasure to be in your presence,” said Persephone dryly, standing to formally acknowledge her fellow queen.

“Spare me the hollow propriety, Persephone. I’m not here to compare notes on immortal misery. This is a strictly informal visit,” said Hera.

“By informal, does that mean Lord Zeus has not sanctioned this visit? Because that would be…awkward.”

“Since my husband is the King of Olympus, I don’t have to answer that question. And I would _strongly_ advise that you not attempt to answer it yourself.”

Hera was a lot moodier than usual. She had never been all that pleasant to be around. During the time Persephone spent with her mother, she made it a point to avoid the Queen of Olympus. Like her, she was another woman whose immortal life was shackled by forces beyond her control. She coped with it in different ways, but most of those coping mechanisms weren’t very effective.

The Queen of Olympus remained apprehensive as she stared down Persephone as only she could. While many of her fellow gods sympathized with this woman’s plight, Hera afforded her no such sentiment. She saw her constant lament as a ruse that hid how hardened she had become and until recently, she never had a reason to call her out.

“I don’t know if you’ve bothered to keep up, but Olympus has had its share of _upheavals_ lately,” said Hera.

“I do my best to remain blissfully unaware of such matters. If it’s all the same to you, Queen Hera, I would like those efforts to not be in vain,” replied Persephone.

“I question the extent of your _efforts_. You’ve always been adept at claiming one thing while doing the other – so adept, in fact, that few gods take notice.”

“Isn’t that a skill all gods are supposed to have,” said the Queen of the Underworld flatly.

“Point taken, but your pretty face and your lofty title won’t go far with me. Acting so sad, only ever wanting to be with your mother, might convince everyone else of your sincerity, but I know the truth. You know I know so drop the act. This is serious.”

Persephone’s solemn demeanor that had been the inspiration of so many mortal tales finally waned. In its place, the hardened woman who hid her disdain for every aspect of her fate emerged.

The usually meek and sad queen now addressed Hera with folded arms and an annoyed glare. The Queen of Olympus picked a very bad time to be meddlesome, but Persephone didn’t flinch in her presence. Nobody who spent any amount of time in this desolate realm was ever easily intimidated.

“What do you want?” said Persephone in a harsh tone.

“I’ve been doing a little side-project for these past few months. It’s one of those projects my _darling_ husband can’t be bothered with so I’ve taken it upon myself to investigate,” began Hera.

“You’re actually doing something besides listening to the prayers of the Amazons and drinking yourself into oblivion? I find _that_ hard to believe.”

“You know, you’re not the first to express that sentiment. And in the interest of full disclosure, I only thought this would help break up the monotony since Zeus has forbidden me to participate in the conflicts in Tartarus.”

“It’s really gotten _that_ bad?” said Persephone, pretending to be worried. “I thought my husband was being coy when he claimed the chaos was destabilizing the foundations of the underworld.”

“It’s every bit as bad as he claims. In fact, it’s probably worse than they’re willing to admit,” said Hera. “That’s actually part of the reason I came here. Does the name Erebus, Titan of Darkness, ring any bells?”

The Queen of the Underworld came dangerously close to flinching this time. The mention of that particular titan was taboo on both Olympus and the Underworld. Of all the titans, few were as dangerous as Erebus. That’s why Zeus, Hades, and Poseidon went to such lengths to imprison him after they realized he could not be killed. Anyone who dared involve themselves with that horrid relic from the past risked upsetting the balance amongst all the realms. For that reason, Persephone chose her words carefully.

“What have you heard?” she asked curtly.

“Very little because most are smart enough not to say anything out loud,” said Hera. “That doesn’t mean the signs aren’t there. I did some investigating of my own – the kind nobody could get away with were they not the wife of Zeus. Without divulging too many specifics, I’ve watched the seal on the Erebus’ tomb become progressively weaker. It’s happening slowly, but it is happening.”

“That’s…disturbing,” said Persephone.

“Indeed it is, but it’s the how troubles me more than the why. There are very few individuals between Olympus and the Underworld capable of even accessing that tomb. Someone would have to have a great deal of power, cunning, and incentive to attempt something so devious without alerting Hades and Zeus – perhaps even someone with ties to Olympian royalty.”

The subtext of her words couldn’t be clearer. Hera would never say it out loud, but she made her suspicions painfully apparent.

“I’m not liking your tone, Hera,” said Persephone.

“That makes two of us,” she replied.

“Then forgive me if I add it to the long list of absurdities Olympus has propagated over the centuries. What makes you think it’s even possible for anyone other than Zeus or Hades to tamper with the Tomb of Erebus?”

“If the current circumstances weren’t so dire, I might actually share that skepticism. But you know the situation in Tartarus has everyone distracted. If ever there was a time for someone to be so foolish, this would be it.”

Her tone became even more apprehensive. Hera looked down on the Queen of the Underworld as though she were a disobedient pet. If she expected an outright confession, she was going to be disappointed.

Persephone knew Hera well enough to understand her tactics. In her mind, she had already concluded that the Queen of the Underworld was responsible for tampering with the Tomb of Erebus. She just couldn’t prove it. That was the only thing working in Persephone’s favor at the moment. She didn’t dare entertain any thoughts that might implicate her. She just continued addressing Hera as a fellow queen, denying her what she sought.

“Well thankfully, I’m not _that_ foolish,” said Persephone in as assertive a tone she could get away with.

“Are you?” questioned Hera. “Demeter has shared her concerns with me on more than one occasion. She says you’ve been much less _spirited_ during your visits.”

“I would ask you not to discuss such personal matters with my mother. I’ll be sure to tell her that myself during the next spring thaw.”

“Your personal matters cease being personal when the potential impact affects us all,” Hera pointed out.

“And why would _that_ concern you?” questioned Persephone.

“I think I have a right to concern when that potential impact includes the permanent destruction of the balance that Olympus has upheld for centuries.”

“Is that how you really feel or is that just how Zeus has conditioned you to feel? You and I are both at the mercy of this so-called balance. We’re both trapped in loveless marriages to gods that see us as more as ornaments than companions. We’re both doomed to live a life of unspoken submission while our _loving_ husbands casually philander behind our backs.”

“You’re treading upon unstable grounds, Persephone. I would advise you to tread lightly,” warned Hera.

“And you have it even worse than me sometimes. At least I only have to carry out my wifely duties half the time. You’re forever stuck under Zeus’ thumb. I honestly don’t know how you deal with it, especially when his love for you ends as soon as his reckless desire to impregnate impressionable mortals begins.”

“You’re opening up old wounds that have taken a _long_ time to heal. You’re only making this more unpleasant than it needs to be.”

“I live in the underworld, Hera. I’m used to all things unpleasant,” scoffed Persephone. “I don’t think I can say the same for you. What exactly does Zeus do to keep you in line these days anyways? I heard he promised to cease his dalliances after that nasty ordeal between Hercules and the Amazons. Can you look at me honestly and say you believe him?”

Persephone’s words were getting bolder. She infuriated Hera in a ways few others dared. It was dangerous, even for the Queen of the Underworld, but it played to her advantage. The more she infuriated Hera, the more she tempted her to be reckless. And at this point, recklessness of any kind on Olympus would work to her advantage.

“Your silence speaks volumes,” she chided. “Even if he kept his promise, does it really make you any less upset? I know you cannot express your dissatisfaction with your husband any more than I can with mine, but I’m sure a part of you is still bitter.”

“I’m a queen. I can’t afford to be that petty, especially if my fellow gods allow themselves to be,” retorted Hera, still making clear who she believed was responsible for these anomalies.

“Oh please! Pettiness is a defining trait among Olympians. It’s all we have when our immortal lives are at the mercy of the fate our husbands propagate. We may be afforded some reprieves. I have my mother. You have your precious Amazons. But is that really petty enough? I know you’ve presented yourself as some sort of feminine ideal among your band of immortal harlots, but even they must know of the indignation you endure on Olympus.”

“Now I would advise you to rip out your own tongue because your words are getting dangerously bold.”

“Is the truth really that bold? Is that what Olympus has come to?” scoffed Persephone. “Maybe that’s why the seal on the Tomb of Erebus is weakening. Maybe it’s not an act of treachery. For all we know, it could be a sign that this _balance_ is unsustainable. And maybe our efforts to stop it are just as petty.”

Hera’s vision narrowed on her fellow queen. She had both the authority and the inclination to strike this woman down for such disrespect, but doing so would not prove her wrong, nor would it grant her vindication. It would also be a gross violation of Zeus’ decree that the gods not attack one another. At a time when her husband was even less understanding than usual, she could not afford to test that decree.

But the most frustrating part of all was that Persephone was right on some levels. They were both at the mercy of this order that their husbands helped create. They were granted some outlet for their dissatisfaction, but even her beloved Amazons knew the stories of her husband’s many infidelities. They may not contemplate it in their payers. That didn’t make it any less egregious. Persephone understood how much this infuriated her and because of that, it would be impossible to get a straight answer from her. At this point, however, she didn’t need one.

Despite her simmering anger, Hera managed to restrain herself. Persephone made it clear that talking to her would only add to her frustrations. She didn’t get what she sought from the Queen of the Underworld, but she got enough to conclude that this woman deserved further scrutiny.

“If these words are indicative of your thoughts, then I think I’m done here,” said Hera. “The ambience of the Underworld has clearly gotten to you. I should’ve known you’re incapable of meaningful conversation.”

“Yes. You should have,” said Persephone dryly.

“But know this, Persephone – this is _not_ over,” she warned. “Regardless of who or what might be involved, the Tomb of Erebus affects us all. If that wretched titan were to be unleashed, then we would have no reprieve…no loving mother to greet us or loyal followers to praise us. And if you believe for a second that oblivion is more preferable to your current condition, then heed my words when I say you’re _gravely_ mistaken.”

“I still haven’t the faintest idea of what you’re implying, but I appreciate the advice. I’m sure it’ll be _so_ useful here in the Underworld.”

She didn’t even try to sound that convincing, knowing that Hera’s suspicions would remain as such until additional revelations came along. That didn’t stop the Queen of Olympus from scolding her one last time, warning her in a not-so-subtle way that the consequences would be severe if her suspicions proved correct. Persephone remained stern under such scolding, her hardened spirit working to her advantage for once. She didn’t dare show weakness until Hera opened a portal back to Olympus and disappeared through it.

As soon as she was gone, Persephone finally allowed herself to falter. She closed her eyes and hugged her shoulders, feeling a wave of tension she wasn’t used to feeling in a dead and desolate realm. She conditioned herself to remain vigilant. In every place between Olympus and the Underworld, it was possible for the gods to meddle. That didn’t make Hera’s visit any less disconcerting. She still had the potential to do far more than meddle.

_‘Guess I’ll need to be careful which thoughts I articulate from here on out. If Zeus’ embittered queen has taken notice, then I can expect others to be more suspicious as well. But I cannot afford to have second thoughts. I’m so close ending this insufferable cycle of drudgery. I know my mother wouldn’t agree in the slightest, but she’ll understand when the time comes. All on Olympus will understand soon enough.’_

* * *

**Metropolis – The Daily Planet**

“Look alive, Kent. Perry’s on the warpath and you’ve still got the biggest target on your back,” said Lois as she passed by her co-worker’s cubicle with a fresh cup of coffee in hand.

“Thanks for the warning, Lois. Rest assured, I’ve adjusted my insurance premiums accordingly,” said Clark as he sat hunched over his desk.

“You’ll need to adjust more than that. This is one of those times when a fluff piece from the Red Cross just ain’t gonna cut it.”

Clark still didn’t appear all that worried. He just kept on typing, not at all concerned about his boss’ mood. He was among the few at the Daily Planet who could keep his cool when Perry got more _agitated_ than usual. It was probably why he preferred to deal with Clark because he knew how to keep a level head.

“Kent! My office… _now_ ,” barked a voice from the editor’s office.

“Right on cue,” sighed Lois.

“So it would seem,” sighed Clark as he finally got up from his desk. “If I don’t come out within one hour, call Superman.”

“Even he might not be able to help you with this, Smallville.”

“But he’ll minimize the damage. With Perry, sometimes that’s the best you can hope for.”

He remained remarkably calm as he made his way towards Perry’s office. Clark knew as well as anyone he was about to get yelled. Chances were, he would get yelled at for things he couldn’t control or even hope to control. But he would take it with a nod and a smile, always avoiding confrontation and defusing the situation however he could. He had gotten a lot better at that over the past few months, which helped keep things from getting too tense at the Planet.

Lois smiled and offered a look of sympathy as she made her way back to her desk. She was confident Clark would be fine. Others, however, were not so certain.

“Maybe we should call Batman as well,” said Jimmy Olson as Lois passed by. “You sure he’s okay facing Perry’s wrath alone?”

“He’ll be fine,” said Lois confidently.

“For someone claiming to be his best friend, you don’t sound all that concerned,” Jimmy pointed out.

“It’s because I’m his best friend that I’m not concerned. Clark’s a mature, responsible adult who knows how to deal with people who don’t share his temperament – an endangered species among men if ever there was one. He can handle Perry.”

“It still couldn’t hurt to show _some_ concern. Word is some lobbyist from DC dropped by this morning. Terms like lawsuit, retraction, and libel being thrown around…along with anything on Perry’s desk that wasn’t nailed down.”

“Three of Perry’s least favorite words after toupee and graying,” said Lois as she casually sipped her coffee.

“And Clark being in a locked room with him still doesn’t concern you?” said Jimmy.

“I admit on certain days, it would. But this isn’t one of those days. Clark can handle it.”

“What makes you so sure about that?” he asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Because Clark had sex with Diana last night,” she answered, “At this point, it would take 20 Perry’s on their worst day to dampen his mood.”

Jimmy gave Lois a strange look. She took another sip of her coffee to conceal her amusement from the young man’s reaction. It never ceased to amaze her, the way everyone reacted at the mention of Clark’s personal life. Even after six months, Clark having a personal life was still somewhat of a novelty. Having been that quiet farm boy who never got too close to anyone, it was still pretty jarring for many. Because of that, they couldn’t appreciate the effect Diana had on him.

She still remembered everyone’s reaction the first day Clark brought Diana to the office. She had just come from a humanitarian conference at the UN. She wore a dress that Jimmy described as being part Hillary Clinton and part sexy librarian. It clearly left a bigger impression on Jimmy more than most.

“Seriously?” he asked with a mix of humor and intrigue.

“If you would stop trying to picture it and actually observe, it would just as obvious to you,” said Lois. “His shirt’s a little looser, his tie’s a little wrinkled, and he’s walking around like he just slayed a dragon. A man doesn’t get that kind of confidence without the touch of a beautiful woman.”

“It’s disturbing how you pick up on these things.”

“I’m a reporter. I wouldn’t even have a job if I didn’t have a knack for insight. Plus, it helps that Jonathan does the same thing every morning after we have sex.”

“I can only imagine. Boy can I imagine,” sighed Jimmy with a goofy grin.

Lois shuddered at the thought of what Jimmy might be imagining. He wouldn’t have been the only one either. The idea that Clark Kent was dating a beautiful woman like Diana Prince was shocking to many. He was this humble farm boy. She was this beautiful, exotic, globe-trotting woman who captivated everyone she met. There was probably a little jealousy to go around as well, but Lois had learned look past the novelty and see Clark and Diana for what they were.

“Well maybe you should stop imagining and start appreciating. Diana has been really good for Clark and not just because it equips him to deal with Perry,” Lois went on.

“Still imagining,” said Jimmy, the goofy grin on his face not fading for a second. “All the ways she’s been good for him keeps men like me up at night.”

“And therein lies the problem,” she sighed. “You get so enamored with the idea that you don’t even see the person.”

“Speaking from experience, Lois? I thought you of all people would be _enamored_ by the idea of Clark Kent dating another beautiful brunette.”

“I admit there might have been a time when I felt that way,” conceded Lois. “There might even have been a time where I got upset about it. But part of being someone’s best friend is knowing who he is and knowing who’s good for him. Based on what I’ve seen with Clark over the past six months, I’m convinced that Diana is good for him. And it’s not just for the reasons you’re probably imagining.”

“Believe me, you don’t even want to know what a guy like me can imagine with a woman like Diana.”

“I’m sure I don’t. I’m also sure that _imagination_ is exactly why women like Diana go for guys like Clark in the first place. If you really want to put that imagination to good use, imagine how Perry’s going to react if you don’t develop those photos from the Toyman trial by noon. Clark might be his favorite whipping boy when he’s upset, but you’re a close second.”

This somewhat jarring reminder was enough to finally dissuade Jimmy from further _imagining_. Still bearing that goofy grin, he sighed to himself and went back to work. He didn’t doubt Lois’ assessment of Clark’s relationship with Diana. That didn’t make it any less amazing to contemplate.

Lois shook her head again and made her way back to her desk. Jimmy Olsen’s attitude towards Clark and Diana was fairly symbolic of the past six months. Those two getting together had been a watershed moment and not just because of the sheer spectacle of Clark Kent being romantically involved with someone. It marked a turning point where they took all seemed to take a few steps forward with their lives. It led to a few significant changes and more than a few challenges, but it all worked out for the better.

Upon sitting at her desk, Lois reflected on some of those changes as she finished her coffee. Her gaze fell upon a couple of pictures she kept near her computer. It used to be she never kept any personal effects in her workspace. That all changed with her and Jonathan.

Ever since they moved in together, things had gotten pretty serious. One of the pictures happened to be taken the day after they moved in together. They were lying on their unmade bed for the first time, exhausted from unpacking and curled up together for a much needed breather. She didn’t remember why she took the picture, but it became symbolic of the new life she had built with Jonathan. It had turned into a good life, one where they supported each other in their respective careers and gave each other strength on the new challenges they faced. It helped make her a better reporter and after her failed efforts to expose Lex Luthor, she needed that strength.

“I eon’t need much imagination to know why you’ve been so good for me, Jonathan,” she said to herself. “We think we’re so good by ourselves. Then we find someone who makes us better and wonder how we could’ve been so foolish.”

She smiled at the picture before shifting her gaze to another. This one had been taken while she and Jonathan were on a double date with Clark and Diana. It actually took quite a bit of convincing on her part to get Clark to go along with it, but it turned out for the better. It gave her some insight into the workings of his relationship with Diana. By seeing their love first-hand, she became convinced just how good Diana had been for him.

It didn’t just translate to him being in a better mood on the nights he and Diana made love. Over these past six months, Clark Kent really came out of his shell, becoming a better man and a better reporter. After he broke the Wonder Woman story, his profile rose. Perry no longer relegated him to just being that reporter he trusted to report fairly and consistently on complex stories. He became a bit more ambitious and Diana definitely helped him along the way.

This new ambition led Clark to reporting stories on major humanitarian issues all over the world, many of which had been woefully underreported by other outlets. Diana’s connections with the Red Cross really helped with these efforts. She got him access to serious situations in disaster areas, war zones, and regions of extreme poverty. Some of them were serious, hard-hitting stories that revealed overlooked tragedies. Others were glimmers of hope, something that every good newspaper needed. His work became so extensive that some of the Planet’s publishing partners were talking about a book deal. It did Clark’s career a lot of good and it also helped his personal ambitions.

This showed in the way Clark lovingly embraced Diana in the picture. With the moonlight in the background, he stood behind her with his arms around her waist while she lovingly grasped his hand. They had all the subtleties of a couple who shared their lives, bore one another’s burdens, and supported each other. Lois had already experienced with Jonathan how important this was in a good relationship. Seeing Clark share that experience with Diana was refreshing. Despite her history with Clark, she came to accept how things had played out and was genuinely happy for him.

Setting her coffee and the picture aside, Lois went back to work, still assuming that Clark could handle Perry. The rule of thumb at the Daily Planet was that until glass started breaking, then it was best to let the boss vent. She hadn’t been working for very long when she heard a knock on the side of her cubicle. Fittingly enough, it was Diana.

“Hey Lois, do you have a moment?” she asked.

“Diana! My favorite gal pal of my favorite guy pal,” greeted Lois. “If you’re here for your boyfriend, I’m afraid you’ll have to wait. He’s in a meeting with Perry and I can’t guarantee he’ll come out in one piece.”

“That’s okay. I’m actually here to see you,” said Diana.

This caught Lois by surprise. Usually when Diana dropped by, she was just here to meet up with Clark for a story or a lunch date. Now concerned, she set aside her work again.

“Is everything all right?” she asked. “Things tend to get awkward _real_ fast when someone else’s girlfriend comes to me.”

“I understand and I apologize if this puts you in that position, but I’ve got a bit of a problem that I’ve been putting off for a while and I don’t think I’m ready to bring it up with Clark.”

“So why are you ready to bring it up with me?” questioned Lois.

“Because it involves dealing with difficult parents and if I recall, you have more experience with that than most.”

Lois looked at Diana with a raised eyebrow. Now she was surprised in an entirely different respect. Diana actually appeared restless, like this had been bugging her for a while and she hadn’t brought it up with anyone else. She couldn’t blame her either. This was one issue that few were qualified to talk about. As it just so happened, Lois Lane was painfully overqualified.

With this in mind, Lois saved her work and grabbed her purse. She then knocked on Jimmy Olsen’s cube, which was right across from hers.

“Jimmy, tell Perry I’ll be taking an extended lunch today,” she told him.

“I think you’re mistaking me for your secretary, Lois,” replied Jimmy.

“Well congratulations. You’ve been promoted,” said Lois. “Something important just came up that can’t be resolved over a salad and a tuna sandwich.”

She didn’t give Jimmy a chance to complain. She just put on her sunglasses, grabbed Diana by the arm, and led her towards the elevators. Diana was somewhat surprised by Lois’ eagerness to help her, but she went along with her. One thing she came to understand about Lois Lane early on was that she never hesitated to confront serious issues.

“Come on, girlfriend. I’ll take you to that Mediterranean place two blocks down. My treat,” said Lois.

“Thank you, Lois. I uh…wasn’t expecting to make too big a deal about this,” said Diana as she followed along.

“When difficult parents are involved, it’s going to be a big deal. Trust me,” she said. “Also trust me when I say that these aren’t the kinds of things you can talk about on an empty stomach.”

* * *

**Daily Planet – Perry White’s Office**

There was an unspoken rule at the Daily Planet. Anyone working in close proximity to Perry White was not to mention certain topics unless they were part of a major story. Those topics included things like retractions, lawsuits, lobbyists, and Lex Luthor. These always put Perry in a foul mood. Everyone in the office could even tell how foul it was based on the amount of cigars he smoked. By Clark’s estimation, he was on his third cigar this morning. It wasn’t the most he had ever smoked before noon, but it made clear that he was pretty agitated.

Clark did his part, sitting across from Perry’s desk and listening calmly to his boss’ angry venting. It was about a story they ran last week that didn’t go over well with certain people of influence. He spent the first several minutes ranting about how lobbyists and lawyers would kill him faster than his smoking habit. He even threw in a few graphic threats about what he would like to do to some of these people. Clark pretended to not hear the details, just in case Perry ever acted on these threats. Eventually, he got to the reason he called him into his office.

“I think it’s safe to say the rest of my week is ruined,” said Perry as he took an extended puff of his cigar. “Legal wants a retraction in print by tomorrow morning. Some guys in suits I desperately want to punch in the jaw are set to show up tomorrow and ‘refine the context of the story,’ as they call it. I’ve already warned my wife and she already agreed to keep the dogs outside for the next couple of days.”

“I’m sure the ASPCA appreciates your foresight, but I don’t see how this one story is ruffling so many feathers,” said Clark.

“I didn’t see it either. Hell, I thought this was the least offensive story we could’ve done without baby kittens being involved,” he said with a sigh. “Guess someone with incredibly thin skin or a very serious personality disorder felt otherwise.”

“But it was just a feature article on some upstart solar energy company in New Mexico. What could they possibly find so offensive?”

“That’s where the details get tricky,” said Perry. “You’re right. It did just start out as a feature. But as soon as someone did a little digging, we found something fishy that made it worth printing a few sections above Cat’s fashion reviews.”

Perry muttered a few curses to himself as he put out his cigar and sat back in his chair. Being an old fashioned newsman, he was used to telling stories that upset people. That was a big reason why the Lex Luthors of the world didn’t like the Daily Planet and it was a big reason why Clark respected him so much. Then there were the seemingly trivial stories that upset people in unexpected ways and those stories annoyed him on an especially frustrating level.

“Since I’m sure you already skimmed the article, let me fill you in on the gritty details,” Perry went on. “Helion Solar is the soft-spoken, intimidating-as-hell new kid on the block in the solar energy game. A while back some shady European businessman took it over and consolidated it with a few research labs in Europe, South America, and Silicon Valley. At first glance, they seem like another one of those companies that want to become Wayne Enterprise of solar energy, but their ambitions aren’t quite that basic.”

“How so?” asked Clark.

“Well there had been a few rumblings in the tech crowd that they were doing research on some exotic new kind of solar energy. We’re talking about the kind that’s more than a few decades ahead of the competition. I don’t know the science – something about incorporating the trans-dimensional research from STAR Labs into solar energy collection.”

“Interesting, but that’s still not much of a story.”

“If that’s all there was to it, then you’d be right,” he admitted. “This is where it gets tricky. An entirely new set of rumblings hinted that they made some sort of major breakthrough – one so major, in fact, that some in the industry and their friends in Washington wanted it kept under wraps. And before you say it sounds like one of those crackpot conspiracy theories, you should know I said the same thing. Then a few of our tech reporters picked up on some leaked emails and half-shredded memos. Without boring you with the details, let’s just say it didn’t seem so crazy. That’s why I chose to run the article.”

“And those people in the industry you mentioned didn’t like it,” surmised Clark.

“To say the least,” groaned Perry, “But here’s where it gets a little stranger – even folks from within Helion Solar got upset. For some reason, they want to be _very_ secretive with their research. They want to keep it from getting out into the market.”

“That sounds oddly counter-productive. I thought they were a business. Wouldn’t they want this technology out in the open?”

“I thought so too. That’s why I was so surprised and ticked when one of their lawyers called this morning and chewed my ear off before I could even get my coffee. Says every bit of information from Helion is privileged information or some other BS legal term they made up. Us publishing _anything_ about it was somehow a huge affront. Those tidbits about suppressing their research was the real kicker. Once the lobbyists got on the phone, I knew this was going to be one of those stories that’ll give me a headache for days.”

In light of these details, Clark now had a better understanding of why Perry had been so upset. It was one thing for someone to not like a story they printed. It was quite another for one that, by all accounts, revealed nothing too outrageous drawing such outrage. It didn’t make sense from a reporting perspective and a logical perspective. In his experience, situations like this often meant other forces were at work.

Perry could tell that Clark was already contemplating the possible headlines. It was like a reflex for him. It was part of what made him such a great reporter. He wasn’t afraid of stories like this. As an editor, unfortunately, he didn’t have the luxury of being so bold. That didn’t mean the truth had to remain buried.

“I’m starting to think there’s a larger story here,” said Clark.

“You’ve always been good at seeing the headline behind the headline, Kent. That’s why I called you here,” said Perry. “This reeks of something much bigger than typical shady business practices. Folks that value privacy and lobbyists on this scale usually have something to hide.”

“And you want me specifically to look into it,” he surmised. “I appreciate the vote of confidence, but why me? I can’t be the only one who sees those hidden headlines.”

“You’re not, but you’re someone who will be more tactful than most. You’ve demonstrated that time and again these past few months as you’ve emerged from your reporting cocoon, as it were.”

“Thanks…I think,” said Clark.

“It’s a compliment. Don’t shrug it off. All these pieces you’ve been writing on humanitarian issues – they show growth. Now I don’t know if that’s just experience or if this amazing woman you’re seeing is magically influencing you.”

“Can it be a little of both?” he said curtly.

“It can be whatever you want it to be. I was young once too, Clark. I know the effects of a beautiful woman. And I know you’ve gotten pretty comfortable, working with her and reporting all these stories. But part of being good at this job is not letting yourself get too comfortable. Since Lois is covering the Toyman trial, I want you to take lead on this one. I can’t tell you what to look for because I honestly don’t know. And if I told you my suspicions, then the Helion lawyers would chew my ass off.”

Perry stopped himself from implying anything. Clark could tell he wanted to share his theories. He chose not to, just so he could tell the truth if this ended up in court. The experienced newsman reached for another cigar in his desk, letting Clark craft some theories of his own. It didn’t take much imagination to see the possibilities.

“You don’t need to say anything else, Chief. I’ll look into it,” assured Clark. “I’ve got some suspicions of my own that should make for good headlines.”

“I trust you to get the facts the others missed or conveniently overlooked. You always do,” said Perry.

“I’ll try to get them before the legal fees start piling up,” he added. “One of the many lessons I’ve learned by working with Diana is that when the facts are overwhelming, people take notice for all the right reasons.”

Perry finally cracked a smile. He shook his head and twirled the unlit cigar in his fingers. Looking across his desk at Clark, he saw a man who had really come into his own over the past six months. He helped give the Daily Planet a good name at a time when it badly needed it.

“Her work is our gain,” he said. “That woman has been good for all of us, but she’s been especially good for you.”

“I know. Believe me, I know,” said Clark with a smile.

“You’re a damn lucky guy, Clark. A woman like that can get you through a lot of tough times. Hope she can get you through this.”

“Whatever it is, I’ll see it through. You have my word, Chief.”

His word being more valuable than most, Perry gave Clark a nod in a show of confidence. Clark then got up from the chair and made his leave, allowing Perry to gather his strength for the coming scrutiny he was sure to face from Helion Solar. So long as the truth was on his side, he was willing to endure.

As soon as Clark left Perry’s office, he formulated a plan for how he would approach this. Perry made a good point about getting too comfortable with his work. As much as he enjoyed working with Diana on these humanitarian stories, there were still plenty less-visible stories to explore. This one caught his interest and not just because he happened to be an alien whose power depended on the sun. These people at Helion Solar didn’t strike him as a typical energy company. Something about the way they carried themselves didn’t sit right. It might very well end up as one of those stories where Superman would have to get involved.

* * *

**Northern Greece – Excavation Camp**

“Mercy! Give me an update and it better be a good one,” barked Lex Luthor as he sat hunched over a makeshift workbench.

“There have been no further setbacks, Mr. Luthor. I can tell you with the utmost confidence that we’re back on schedule,” replied Mercy Graves in a flat, robotic tone.

“Good. Be sure that it stays that way. We’re getting to a very sensitive phase of the operation. There can be no complications from here on out. Is that clear?”

“I’ll be sure to relay this message to the workers.”

It had been a restless couple of weeks for Lex Luthor. In fact, these past few months had tested his stamina almost as much as it had tested his patience. It wasn’t just that he was still technically a fugitive wanted for his involvement in the Syria/Metallo debacle. His lawyers and connections could always protect him from that. It was the volatile nature of this part of the operation that strained his resolve. Thankfully, the big payoff was almost upon him. He could practically feel it within his grasp.

For the past six months, Lex spent most of his time organizing the excavation at this site, which was nestled between two large mountains and rocky valley. It was a site that the Greek government had stayed away from for reasons not made public and he made sure this worked to his advantage.

This wasn’t the first time somebody went digging for ancient artifacts in this area. It wasn’t even the tenth. The locals called this place the Mine of the Damned because every time somebody tried looking for something of value, they often ended up plagued by misfortune. Cave-ins, earthquakes, and all sorts of uncommon mishaps became frighteningly common to the point where even the most ardent skeptic grew superstitious. But Lex Luthor didn’t care for superstitions, curses, or anything of the sort. The fools who dared to dig here in the past lacked the tools, the connections, and the genius to uncover this ancient secret.

Under the guise of a mining operation, Lex smuggled in heavy equipment and paid migrant workers handsomely to recklessly dig hundreds of feet into the unforgiving terrain. He didn’t tell them what they were digging for. He just pointed them in the direction and every day for the past six month, they probed deeper and deeper into the valley, creating a network of mine shafts descending to a single point. By his calculations, that point would be accessible very soon. What happened after that would depend on an entirely different set of calculations.

_‘They’re all so nervous. Some of the workers have even resorted to praying at a makeshift church for protection against what they call evil forces within. Those pitiful fools – I might actually have sympathy for them if they weren’t so eager to believe in such nonsense.’_

Lex had heard all the legends about this area. It became somewhat of a pastime for the workers, learning of all the so-called sinister forces that had plagued this area since ancient times. These fanciful stories, like all great stories, had some basis in truth. They just weren’t smart enough to understand.

Before he even arrived, Lex Luthor made sure he was too smart to be scared off by any local legend. He set up a small but well-equipped research area out of a tent and a few huts he purchased from local herders. Within this area, he assembled an array of equipment that he smuggled in from Lexcorp subsidiaries. Most of it specialized in reading and channeling exotic forms of energy. It was pretty crude, running mostly off old diesel generators and outdated particle scanners that had been thrown away from universities and laboratories. But it didn’t need to be too advanced because he already had the most important component of this operation.

“This oversized butter knife just keeps defying the known laws of physics – well, the laws known only to lesser minds,” said Lex proudly as he looked over the latest readings, “The energy output continues to increase exponentially. If I were as gullible as the locals, I would say the dagger knows I’m getting close.”

Lex laughed to himself as he let the computers compile the data while he retrieved the Dagger of Deimos from the scanner. He hadn’t left this relic out of his sight since the day Mercy handed it to him. It remained key to this operation and not just because it pointed him in the right direction.

Holding the dagger in his hands, Lex Luthor could feel the power radiating from within. It was a power that few could hope to understand, let alone channel. Ares never tried to explain it to him. Like all gods, he probably thought no mortal could understand it. That would only make it more satisfying when he proved him and every other phony god like him wrong.

_‘Perhaps I should have more sympathy for them. If they had even a mediocre understanding of the power within the Dagger of Deimos, they wouldn’t need to be so eager to label it evil. Then again, their understanding of evil is still a joke. They speak of evil as though it were something they could actually measure. It shouldn’t take such genius to realize that evil is only the product of a failed understanding – a failure that is too painful to confront and too comforting to accept.’_

Lex shook his head as he put the dagger back into a special protective case that only he could open. Right next to this case stood a few newspaper articles he had compiled, most of which came from the Daily Planet. While he remained confident that he took all the necessary precautions to cover his tracks, he didn’t assume that the Lois Lanes of the world wouldn’t pursue him.

For months now, it had been quiet. No major stories had been reported on him or his operations here in Greece. The last story the Planet reported involved the disappearance of Professor Felix Foust from the antiquities department of Metropolis Technical and State University. It didn’t say much, only revealing that Professor Foust had vanished under mysterious circumstances and the police had no leads. The story had been buried far from the front page, which was a good sign that Luthor had not left any loose ends.

_‘Even those who attempt to understand can’t always handle it. That’s why you were an outcast among your peers, Felix. Nobody would take you seriously when you claimed myths surrounding the Greeks and Romans were based on real beings. Even after the appearance of meta-humans, you got laughed out of every room. You were willing to ask questions nobody bothered to explore.’_

He picked up the article, which had an image Professor Foust’s in the center of the page. In addition to the mysterious nature of his disappearance, the article touched on some of his controversial research. Lex could tell that this part of the article had been pushed by Lois Lane. The editors at the Daily Planet probably wanted the parts about his work on magic and mythology censored. She only partially won the argument because it still gave the impression that Foust just another eccentric when nothing could be further from the truth.

_‘You attempted to understand forces you were woefully unequipped to handle. Take comfort in the knowledge that your failures laid the foundation for my success. Were it not for you, it would’ve taken me much longer to uncover the energy signature of the Dagger of Deimos. It allowed me to track down similar signatures, including the rather large one here at this site. And soon, it’ll allow me to outsmart these pathetic gods.’_

It put a smile on his face just thinking about it, a man outwitting the gods once worshipped by the ancients. Only a special kind of genius could hope to accomplish such a feat and he was just such a genius. His clashes with Superman, as frustrating as they had been, acted as a prelude of sorts. With this, a mere man would surpass gods and aliens alike.

Lex Luthor reveled in the challenge, but he could already hear the angry cries of his enemies. They called him a narcissist, an egotist, and a megalomaniacal madman. They didn’t understand. They could never hope to understand. As he looked at the picture of Professor Foust in the paper, he could already hear his shallow arguments.

“I can hear your voice, Felix. I know exactly what you’d be telling me if you saw what I was doing,” Lex said to the picture. “You would yell, ‘Lex, you can’t tamper with the power of the gods!’ You might even throw in a, ‘There’s a reason every myth and folktale ends badly for men like you. The gods can’t be outsmarted. They’re gods!’ Well maybe that’s the problem. Did that thought ever cross your mind?”

He kept staring down the picture, as though Felix Foust was actually standing in front of him. Lex ran through every possible argument Foust could’ve made. He might have been brilliant in his field, but he lacked the genius and the imagination to appreciate what he had planned.

“Next, you’ll probably say, ‘You’re playing right into their hands!’ You’ll then tell me all those tired old stories from the Odyssey, pointing out all the ways the gods manipulated and tricked mortals. You’ll even claim I’m consumed with the same hubris that brought them down. Would you even consider that I’m smarter than those Bronze Age savages?”

He scoffed and shook his head at the picture. He didn’t need much genius or imagination to surprise what Foust’s answer would be to that question. It was the same as everyone who doubted him.

“Of course you wouldn’t consider it. That’s exactly why you’re just another name on a list of missing people who will never be found,” said Lex. “I know what happens when mortals attempt to clash with gods. They walk blindly into their traps, thinking their valor or cunning is enough to defeat them. They fail to understand that the gods are subject to the same hubris. I intend to exploit that hubris. I want them to look at me as just another arrogant mortal, attempting to usurp their power. I want them to think they can manipulate me to their own ends. That’ll only make what I have planned all the more satisfying. It’s a shame you won’t be able to see it. You’ll never know how wrong you are.”

Lex could still hear Foust’s voice berating and belittling him. At this point, it would be nothing of substance. He would just be yelling and babbling, making a greater fool of himself in the process.

Nobody was going to convince Lex Luthor that he couldn’t outwit gods. He was already in a better position than every mythic hero of old could ever hope to be. The gods saw him as just another pawn who would play the role they wanted him to play, serving them to their own ends. He fully intended to maintain that role, but only to the extent that it served his own goals. The Felix Fousts of the world would still call him foolish, deluded, and egotistical. In reality, they were only perpetuating the same problem that had plagued the ancients.

“You’re no better than the mindless masses who worship Superman as a modern day god,” Lex continued. “You see these beings as powerful, infallible forces that mankind is incapable of confronting. I don’t believe that for a second. Contrary to what the Daily Planet might say, I actually think better of my fellow man.”

He set the paper on a nearby table, ensuring Foust’s picture kept staring back at him. There were other old issues of the Daily Planet stacked on the table. Many of them covered stories about Wonder Woman, the latest so-called superhero to join the scene. After seeing how Ares reacted to her presence, Lex took a special interest in her.

“I bet you would have seen her as a sign, Felix – an omen that these forces were bound to attract beings I could not defeat,” said Lex. “This Wonder Woman, as they call here, is just another unwitting participant. Like Superman, she carries herself as someone above humanity. She’s like the gods of old, believing herself to be above reproach. She’s going to learn, just like Superman, that nobody – no matter how powerful they are – is above reproach.”

Lex sneered at the picture of Wonder Woman on one of the newspapers. He expected to deal with her again, not worrying for a second about dealing with another being every bit as powerful as Superman. As far as he was concerned, she was just another pseudo-deity in need of a lesson in humility.

“You could never appreciate what I intend to do, Felix. Those of such weak intellect never do. With this dagger and the power it unlocks, I’ll expose these petty gods and those who act like them for the frauds they are. And it won’t be some demigod who does it either. It’ll be a man – a single, brilliant man. You’ll see. The whole world will see.”

* * *

**Pasadena, California – Helion Solar Corporate Headquarters**

There was once a time when meddling in the affairs of mortals was actually entertaining for the gods. These frail beings were so eager to worship them. It didn’t take much for the gods to exploit those gullible tendencies. However, as mankind advanced beyond pockets of dirty farmers, such exploitation became more tedious. In the end the gods got bored once the worshipping stopped and the mortal world ceased being of use to them.

Despite mankind’s many shortcomings, they still proved useful at times. This generation of mortals might not be as easily manipulated as their ancient counterparts, but they were still subject to considerable influence. In the days of old, the gods had to feed mortals the promise of honor and glory. These modern times, the promise of great wealth was more than sufficient.

_‘Sometimes I miss what these mortals might call the good old days. They were simpler. The mortals built monuments to our glory, worshipped us as gods, and were all too eager to submit to our will in exchange for great reward. It was a good time to be an Olympian. But whenever I long for these days, I remember how demanding it was dealing with mortals. They were like blind, untrained dogs that needed to be guided into licking themselves. These days, they’re more tame. They need only a treat and a pat on the head. It’s easier, but not nearly as satisfying.’_

Apollo shook his head in bemusement as he gazed out the window of the opulent executive office of Helion Solar, a company that specialized in an industry near and dear to his heart. Being the god of light and sun, he couldn’t have had a more fitting role in the mortal world, seeking to capture the energy of the sun and channel it into more profitable uses. It just wasn’t as much a challenge as it would’ve been in centuries past.

But like he and his fellow gods had done many times in the past, he took on a mortal form to carry out godly affairs. His current form was that of Alfonso Disole, an Italian businessman from Milan who specialized in green energy. Approximately six months ago, Mr. Disole purchased several small solar energy companies and consolidated them into Helion Solar. It was a private entity that valued its privacy, as all Olympian affairs often did. It had a fairly simple mission to create advanced new forms of solar energy, a task that drew little interest amidst a crowded market. However, this mission was merely a mask for more ambitious endeavors.

It had to be ambitious because Zeus, Hades, and Poseidon were getting desperate for an edge against the escalating chaos. For that reason, Zeus didn’t need much convincing to allow Apollo to pursue such an edge in the mortal world. His stated goal was to mix Olympian power with mortal technology in hopes of creating weapons that would aid their efforts. Hephaestus even provided some of the machinery to get him going. But this was not the only goal on Apollo’s mind. Zeus made it clear to him that if the circumstances were even marginally different, he would not trust him with such a task. Olympus simply did not have the luxury of being cautious, which worked heavily into Apollo’s favor.

This was hardly the first time the gods created institutions within the mortal world to serve them, but such practices became increasingly rarer in recent times. Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades came to see entanglements with the mortal world as adding to the chaos. As was so often the case, the gods made exceptions when they felt their power was threatened. Apollo understood the role he had to play within this power structure. However, it was a structure doomed to crumble.

_‘It won’t be much longer now. Soon, things will get more challenging. I know Lord Zeus is keeping an eye on me. He might even suspect I’m doing just enough to keep him from coming down on me. He still believes he’s powerful enough to deal with me if I step out of line. He might be right now, but that’s about to change in a big way.’_

While still gazing out the window, he swirled a glass of wine in his hand. Mortals were inept in many ways, but they knew how to make quality wine. Apollo imagined it would taste much sweeter when he succeeded in outwitting his overbearing father.

As he drank his wine, the doors to his office opened and a shapely young woman in a low-cut dress with glasses entered. That was another task mortals excelled at. They made for such slightly subordinates.

“Mr. Disole, I apologize for interrupting your lunch hour, but you have an urgent call from legal,” said the woman.

“That’s quite alright, my dear. Wine tastes just as good at any hour,” said Apollo casually. “What are they whining about this time?”

“It’s those people from the Daily Planet again. They’re balking at our requests for a gag order and a retraction. I’m also told they’re sending another reporter to one of our research facilities near Metropolis. They seem quite intent on learning more of our work.”

Apollo rolled his eyes. This was the one part of the mortal world that was infuriating to deal with and a significant reason why the Olympians had retreated from mortal affairs. They were just too damned nosy, always seeking to tell a story that would get them fame and wealth. It made him miss the days of corrupt kings and ignorant peasants, but it was nothing he couldn’t work around.

“Tell them I’ll deal with it through our usual _backchannels_ ,” he replied. “They are to remain focused on keeping the Daily Planet from drawing undue attention to our operations. The same applies to any media outlet.”

“Understood,” the woman replied. “Is there anything else?”

“Yes, please hold all calls for the next half-hour and keep my office doors locked. I’d like to not be disturbed for more than a few minutes.”

The attractive woman nodded obediently and left the office, closing the door and locking it behind her. It allowed Apollo to finish his wine and close the shades on the windows. Keeping secrets from the mortal world required only the right influence and deep pockets, but keeping secrets from both the mortal world and Olympus was much harder.

His office now darkened and his doors secured, Apollo set aside his wine and turned his attention to a large mirror he had mounted on the wall next to his desk. To visitors and janitors, it was just an ordinary mirror for him to check his hair and smooth out his tie. But it was actually little gift he crafted himself from discarded materials from Hephaestus’ forge.

“I know you’ve been calling incessantly,” he said to the mirror. “I haven’t been putting you off. I just haven’t had the time to hear you’re whining.”

_“Well for both our sake, you had better make time, Apollo,”_ replied an anxious voice.

The mirror started glowing with dark purplish energy, the distinct hue of the energy that often radiated from Hades. Moments later his reflection then faded, replaced by that of a very irate Persephone.

“Queen Persephone, you’re looking more miserable than usual,” chided Apollo.

_“Spare the insincere formalities. We have a potential complication brewing,”_ said Persephone urgently.

“Potential, you say? And that warrants the risk of contacting me from your darling husband’s domain?”

_“Hera is now involved. She actually visited me today. She’s been asking questions about the Tomb of Erebus. I made sure she didn’t uncover anything too damning, but the mere fact she asked me is deeply disconcerting.”_

“I don’t disagree. Most conversation with the wife of Zeus are quite disconcerting for any number of reasons,” said Apollo curtly.

_“Well she happens to be among the few with the authority to derail all our plans so I would advise you take this matter seriously!”_ she said strongly. _“As I speak, Lord Hades is conferring with Zeus and Poseidon. I do not know how long they’ll be distracted so this cannot wait. I need to know you’re aware with this.”_

Apollo hid his mild agitation as best he could. Persephone was among the most vulnerable loose ends to this whole operation. He actually advised Ares against getting her involved, even if she did have more incentive than most to aid them. While she did not have the same cunning as other gods, she did have access and resources that few others could match. For that reason, she was a vital component of this plan and he had to appease her.

“Yes, I’m aware of Hera’s newfound curiosity. And yes, I’ve taken the appropriate precautions,” said Apollo, rolling his eyes.

_“How did she even find out?”_ wondered Persephone anxiously. _“She’s supposed to passionately ambivalent to anything that might frustrate Zeus.”_

“You’re right. She is,” said Apollo with no concern whatsoever.

_“There’s no way she could’ve detected my activities at the tomb. There’s no way she would even bother to look. I’ve taken every precaution. I’ve kept myself hidden with that cloak Ares gave me. I’ve made sure Lord Hades was occupied whenever I ventured out.”_

“I believe you. You’ve too much to lose to be so careless. The only logical explanation would be if _somebody_ tipped Hera off months ago about the growing instability of the tomb – somebody with detailed knowledge of our activities that none of our fellow gods could hope to uncover.”

The God of Light and Sun didn’t even try to hide the subtext. He actually laughed to himself as he indirectly told the Queen of the Underworld more than she cared to know. The mirror actually shook lightly as she scolded him angrily, which only added to his amusement.

_“You told her!”_ Persephone exclaimed.

“Keep your voice down, Queen Persephone. You’ll alert the entire Underworld with that tone,” said Apollo wryly.

_“Are you mad, Apollo? She’s a dissatisfied wife always seeking to take it out on someone. What could you possibly gain by telling her other than infuriating me!”_

“It’s because she’s so dissatisfied that she could be an important ally when the time comes. As for why I didn’t tell you – well, I’d say your _vocal_ reaction is reason enough.”

Persephone continued to fume. At the rate she was going, she would shatter the mirror with her outrage. Apollo, never once losing his calm, grinned confidently at the irate queen. She had her role to play as well and neither of them had the luxury of turning back.

“Before you berate me any further, be assured that I had a good reason for goading Hera into this affair,” said Apollo.

_“I highly doubt that any reason that draws the ire of the Queen of Olympus can qualify as good,”_ scoffed Persephone.

“Then I guess you won’t mind if I omit the details. That way if you’re asked, you’ll be able to plead ignorance with a straight face. You’re already quite adept at ignorance so I’ve the utmost confidence in your ability to keep Hera at bay.”

The Queen of the Underworld scolded Apollo again, but refrained from making a commotion. She understood like every other god in Olympus that ignorance was the best protection from Zeus’ wrath.

“All you need to know is that I needed Hera to do more than loft about in her garden and answer prayers from her precious Amazons,” Apollo continued. “She needs to be sufficiently agitated when the other pieces of our little plan fall into place.”

_“And if she gets too agitated?”_ questioned Persephone.

“That won’t be a problem because those pieces are set to move very soon. And once Hera is on the warpath, you and I both know she’s capable of being incredibly irresponsible. Like you said, she’s the Queen of Olympus. Only she has the power and authority to shake the foundations of Olympus to their core. The moment that happens, we can make our move.”

_“It sounds to me like you’re placing too much faith in Hera.”_

“It has nothing to do with faith, my Queen. It’s all about evoking the right passions,” retorted Apollo. “Gods, like mortals, make poor decisions they cannot undo when their passions get the better of them. It’s the only chance either of us will ever have at changing our fate. And if you want that as much as I do, you’ll control your passions until the time is right.”

Persephone still didn’t appreciate her fellow god’s tactics. He put her in a very vulnerable position, being a target of suspicion by the Queen of Olympus. If this backfired in any way, then she could expect her fate to be far worse than anything the Underworld could conjure.

However, she understood the passions of the gods better than most. Those very passions were what led her to her current state, forever doomed to the will of the gods. She was not in a position change her fate without the aid of gods like Apollo and Ares. She didn’t like it, but she had to take that chance if she was to break this cycle of torment.

_“You still should’ve told me,”_ said Persephone in a calmer, yet still forceful tone.

“Well now you know so there’s no use getting worked up about,” said Apollo with an innocent shrug.

_“You’re by far one of the most infuriating gods on Olympus, Apollo. And given the company we keep, that’s saying something.”_

“I consider that a badge of honor, Persephone,” he said proudly. “Those who are willing to infuriate are often those are willing to deviate from the established order. You should consider yourself lucky. Ares and I are doing the heavy lifting. All you have to do is sit back and wait until that a new kind of chaos consumes Olympus.”

_“And how exactly will I know when that time comes?”_ she said with lingering reservations.

“Trust me. You’ll know.”

Apollo grinned smugly before snapping his fingers to sever the mystical link between the mirror in the Underworld. He could hear the echoes of Persephone cursing him under her breath. That didn’t bother him in the slightest. The first shot was about to be fired and he needed her to be anxious and irate. It would only add to the coming chaos, ensuring that none on Olympus would be in a position to stop them.

Apollo went through a lot of trouble to put himself in just the right position. This plan promised to end the reign of Olympus and lay the foundation for a new order. So long as everyone believed he was just another disgruntled god, he stood to gain more than any god or mortal ever dreamed.

* * *

**Up next: Family Ties**


	12. Family Ties

**Strangers In Paradise**   
**Chapter 12: Family Ties**

* * *

**Mediterranean Di Vino**

Diana didn’t know what to expect when she went to Lois Lane for advice on complicated family affairs. Clark told her a bit about Lois’ family. Her mother died young and her father had expectations she could never reach. She wouldn’t have been offended if Lois refused to discuss them entirely. For that reason, she was pretty surprised when Lois bought her lunch at a nice restaurant. She even made sure they sat in a corner so nobody could eavesdrop on their conversation. She was really serious about helping her.

“How’s that pasta primavera treating you? Feeling strong enough yet?” asked Lois, still working on her chicken panini.

“It’s good. As for strength, I’m not sure how much it’ll help me here,” said Diana.

“Trust me, it’ll help. Just tell me what got you to this point. Be as vague as you want. Difficult parents aren’t easy to describe no matter how strong you are.”

Diana took some comfort in Lois’ understanding, but this would be a difficult matter to discuss and not just because it was so deeply personal. Diana couldn’t give Lois the full story of her life, namely the parts about her growing up on an island of immortal female warriors. She could only give her the story that Hessia helped her forge when she first entered man’s world.

Lois already knew that story fairly well. Shortly after she and Clark started dating, she told her the official version of Diana Prince’s life. She was born in a rural part of Greece in an isolated, tight-knit costal community. Her mother, her neighbors, and her extended family were all either war refugees from Eastern Europe or former militia members. It made everyone around her very hardened, tough, and extremely untrusting of outsiders. Diana left the part out where they were all women. As far as Lois or anyone besides Clark and Hessia knew, it was just a very close, very protective community. In most respects, it wasn’t that far from the truth.

While she had shared this story with others, she never talked much about her mother. She always kept it vague, as Hessia had instructed. She would probably have a big problem with her telling Lois right now, but Diana came to see this woman as someone she could trust. Lois was tough, blunt, and fearless. In another life, she would’ve made a fine Amazon. But at the moment, she needed a friend.

She had spent the last fifteen minutes just giving Lois a partial idea of her circumstances, focusing mostly on how she left her community and started a new life in London. Diana made no secret of her struggles to adjust to the world outside her home, but her work with the Red Cross and Hessia, who she said was her Aunt, helped her embrace that world. Now her recent nightmares forced her to entertain thoughts of returning to her former home to confront these very personal and still unresolved issues.

“Forgive me if my strength still fails me. I’m not entirely sure how to talk about this without making it worse,” admitted Diana.

“Sometimes it has to get worse before it can get better,” said Lois.

“That’s what I’m afraid of. I guess that’s also why I’ve been putting it off.”

“Hey, nobody can blame you. Just start wherever you want to start. You’re my best friend’s girl. You know I won’t judge and you know I’ll take any secrets to my grave.”

“You’re a woman of great integrity, Lois. I appreciate that – more than I can possibly describe,” said Diana with a weak smile, “But you’re going to need to be a little judgmental here because this involves my mother. It all begins and ends with her.”

Diana set aside her finished meal and took a few deep breaths. It had been a while since she talked about her mother with anyone. Clark never brought it up and neither did Hessia. They both knew it was a very sensitive issue. Even if she could tell Lois the full story, she could never convey just how much it pained her not having her mother in her life.

“Before I risk giving you the wrong idea, let me first say that I love my mother with all my heart,” she said. “I owe so much of who I am to her and all the love she gave me as a child. I would never do or say anything to undermine that love.”

“I believe you. Every difficult parent deserves a disclaimer,” said Lois, “But love isn’t the problem here, is it?”

“No. it isn’t,” Diana admitted.

“So then let’s assume your mother proved that love beyond all possible doubt. Instead, try and focus on the issues that love couldn’t solve.”

“I’ll try, but I can’t promise I’ll use the right words to describe them.”

“That’s okay. There _aren’t_ any right words for this sort of thing. Say whatever you need to say to get your point across. Lie to me if you have to, but I’m going to need to understand on some levels if I’m going to help.”

Despite Lois’ assurances, Diana still hesitated. She diverted her gaze for a moment, recalling all the painful circumstances that tore her and her mother apart. She couldn’t possibly get Lois to understand the extent of this pain because she couldn’t tell her the entire truth, but she didn’t need her to understand everything. She just needed Lois to understand enough so she could give the guidance she desperately needed.

“The first thing you need to understand about my mother is that she doesn’t trust outsiders,” Diana began. “By that I don’t mean she’s protective. I mean she doesn’t trust _anyone_ she doesn’t already know. For almost her entire life, her first instinct is to assume that outsiders – especially male outsiders – savage beasts who see women like her only as chattel.”

“Damn. That’s pretty extreme and not in the traditional feminazi sort of way,” said Lois. “Do I even want to know the story behind that?”

“You need to if this is going to make sense,” said Diana, her voice becoming somewhat strained. “When my mother was very young, she was…assaulted by a ruthless man and his friends.”

“What kind of gutless man does something like that?”

“The kind that leaves lifelong scars. I don’t know much about these men beyond what my mother told me. They were soldiers of a sort and they were ‘seeking allies’ or so they claimed. And those that refused were enemies by default. Unfortunately, my mother refused and tried to fight back. It…didn’t turn out well.”

“I can imagine.”

“No Lois…you can’t. I know you can’t because I’m sparing you the details that she didn’t spare me. Even as a child, she vividly described all the ways she had been hurt. Without getting graphic in a way that would spoil this wonderful lunch, assume she made it painfully clear that her experience ensured she would never trust outsiders again. After that, she only ever dealt with those within our community.”

It was mostly truth with small lies mixed in. Diana gave the impression that men were still part of their community. They had to be in order for it to function in a way that wouldn’t raise awkward questions. Thankfully, Lois didn’t end up asking any of those questions.

The nature of this community didn’t intrigue Lois as much as the experience of Diana’s mother. She kept trying to imagine the kind of brutality a woman would have to suffer before distrusting all men. She had been in war zones before and reported on horrific atrocities committed against women. It wouldn’t have surprised her at all if more than a few grew to inherently hate men and Diana’s mother appeared to be among those unfortunate few.

“As hurt as she was, this didn’t keep her from becoming a respected figure in the community. If you were to go there now, everyone you meet would say she’s the most influential person there,” Diana continued.

“Sounds like my dad during an election year,” muttered Lois, already seeing some parallels with her own family life.

“It also didn’t stop her from wanting to have children of her own. Of course, she would never let a man touch her so she did some kind of in vitro procedure to have me.”

Again, it wasn’t a complete lie. Hessia told her that such procedures did exist, which was why she told Diana to use this story if anyone asked about having a father. This way it wasn’t wholly unbelievable that a woman like her mother would seek to have a child in this sort of way.

“I guess that makes sense – albeit in a tragic sort of way,” said Lois.

“I don’t disagree,” said Diana, “But tragedy or not, she surrounded me with love the moment I was born.”

“But she also surrounded you with her hatred of outsiders as well, didn’t she?”

Lois was starting to put the pieces together, as Diana had expected. Lois was a very perceptive woman. It helped make her such a great reporter. This was the point where lies would be less necessary to get her point across. It was also the point where the emotions involved became more difficult.

“That’s where the divide between me and my mother began,” sighed Diana. “Even with everything I had been taught to believe about outsiders, something about it just didn’t sit well. I started questioning it and she kept writing it off. I really had no reason to completely reject it. Then I met Clark and – well, you know _that_ story.”

“I should. Clark still gets that goofy grin on his face whenever he talks about the first time you two met,” said Lois.

“I know. It’s adorable isn’t it?” said Diana, smiling somewhat.

“How could it not be? A guy loses his parents, decides to do a little soul-searching, and bumbles his way across Europe until he crosses paths with a beautiful teenage girl. And since it’s not cheesy enough, they have to keep their little _friendship_ secret because her community hates outsiders.”

The two women laughed. This was one part of the story where Diana didn’t mind the half-truths she and Clark told everyone. It still conveyed the same sentiment, a lost young man crossing paths with a beautiful young woman in a community hostile to outsiders. It still amazed her how it all happened, which only made what led her to this point more difficult.

“I admit it has the makings of a made-for-TV movie,” said Diana. “Now that I look back on it, I think that experience made me leaving my home inevitable.”

“Clark is just that great a guy, I guess,” commented Lois.

“That he is. But my mother would not see that. Nobody in my home would see that. For years after he left, I thought I could get them to come around. I thought I could be the woman they wanted me to be and still open their minds and hearts to new ideas. I might as well have been deluding myself. My mother and everyone around her – they couldn’t get beyond their hatred.”

“And you think they never will?” asked Lois.

“Well that’s kind of what led me to you,” said Diana, “Because that very question has been frustrating me to no end.”

She stopped for a moment as her thoughts drifted back to the final conversation she had with her mother. The anger in her tone still echoed within her mind. But beyond that anger, she also recalled the heartfelt sorrow of being torn from her daughter. Those feelings, beyond the anger and the hatred, convinced Diana that her mother was not entirely lost to her. However, the idea of trying to reach out to her again seemed so daunting, even for an Amazon.

“My mother is difficult. There’s no way around that,” sighed Diana.

“Believe me, you’ve more than convinced me of that,” said Lois.

“But I can’t stand the idea of cutting her out of my life completely,” she continued with a mix of frustration and desperation. “I’ve seen and experienced so many wonderful things since I left – things that definitively prove my mother wrong. I’ve built such a rich, fulfilling life. And before you ask – yes, Clark Kent is a very important part of that life.”

“Well I wasn’t going to say anything, but thanks for confirming _everything_ I’ve seen with you two over the past six months.”

“And therein lies the problem,” said Diana. “I love Clark. I want him to be part of my life, but I don’t want to keep my mother out of that life. I want to somehow bridge the gap, but I don’t know if that’s even possible. I don’t even know where I would begin. And lately, I’ve had this sinking feeling that the longer I continue with this life, the more I’ll lose my mother. She’s not going to just call me up out of the blue and want to make amends. She’s too stubborn…too proud. Sometimes I just wish I could…”

Her words finally trailed off. Diana could no longer put this struggle into words. It had been plaguing her since she left her home. It weighed heavily on her soul no matter how much happiness she found with Clark, her job, or her role as Wonder Woman. As time went on, this burden kept getting worse. In addition, her recent nightmares led her to believe that it would soon reach a point where she could no longer bear it.

Despite her inability to fully articulate her feelings, Lois got the messages. She reached across the table and consoled her friend. This was the first time she had ever seen Diana this vulnerable. She always carried herself with such strength and charisma, especially around Clark. Being no stranger to family drama, she understood better than most how these feelings could overwhelm even the strongest soul. By that same understanding, she saw in Diana someone who needed guidance.

“It’s okay. You don’t have to go on,” assured Lois.

“I’m sorry if I said more than you wanted to hear,” said Diana as she regained her composure.

“You told me more than enough. And I can say right off the bat that there’s one important detail you need to confront before you even _think_ about dealing with this.”

“And what might that be?” asked Diana.

“What you’re dealing with – your mother and your life without her – it’s not a problem. Problems, by definition, have solutions. That makes them easier to deal with, especially if you have a calculator and an internet connection. What you’re facing here is a _dilemma_ and dilemmas, by definition, don’t have solutions. Trying to find one would be like trying to find dry water. You’re just setting yourself up for more frustration.”

It was a strange assessment of her current situation, but Diana could not disagree. Lois spoke with an authority and compassion that would have rivaled any Amazon. She now had Diana’s full attention as she listened intently for whatever perspective she had to offer.

“So if not a solution, what should I be looking for?” she asked.

“Bear with me because this is where it gets tricky,” Lois explained. “My father is a lot like your mother. He sees the world in a completely different way. To him, there is no absolute truth or justice. There’s only enemies and threats, the only absolute being the interests of his country – or at least the country as he sees it.”

“Well given what you’ve accomplished, I can see why you two wouldn’t get along.”

“That would be an understatement of _monumental_ proportions. That’s why we drifted so far apart and why I know we can never fully bridge the gap. But that’s because for too long, we kept trying to convince each other that one of us was right and the other was wrong. We tried so hard that we became more concerned with winning the argument than figuring out who was actually right.”

“So who ended up being right?” asked Diana.

“See, _that’s_ the kicker. It really doesn’t matter who ends up being right. I could probably make the argument that I was right because my father saw Superman as a threat. I had plenty of proof to prove him wrong because Superman proved he wasn’t a threat on multiple occasions, but it didn’t make a difference. At some point, you just have to accept that you’re not going to change this person’s mind, no matter how much you love them or how right you may be. Only they can do that.”

“Does that mean I’d be foolish to confront my mother at this point? If she’s not going to change her mind, then what hope do I have of making amends?”

“Back up. That’s not what I’m saying,” said Lois in a more careful tone. “From what you told me, you and your mother have already had plenty of arguments. But I get the sense you haven’t gotten to the point that I got with my father. That means there’s still a chance that the situation isn’t damaged beyond repair.”

She made it seem the conflict between Diana and her mother wasn’t as dire as she thought. Diana still wanted to believe that. It didn’t help that she couldn’t tell Lois the extent of that conflict, having to hide her identity and Clark’s for that matter. But she was still ready to cling to whatever glimmer of hope there might have been.

“So then how do I avoid getting to that point?” asked Diana.

“Well it’s not easy – or pleasant for that matter – so brace yourself,” warned Lois.

“I’m willing to do what I have to do.”

“Good because the first and most important step of dealing with difficult parents often involves being a glutton for punishment. And what I mean by that is sometimes you have to be the one that swallows your pride and ends that never-ending argument, even when you know you’re right.”

Diana shifted uncomfortably at such a notion. That didn’t seem appealing or intuitive in the slightest, going against her inherent desire to embrace truth. Lois clearly didn’t like it either, but she was dead serious.

“Now I’m not gonna lie. It’s _hard_ to humble yourself in front of anyone, especially a parent,” Lois went on. “You’ll feel rotten as hell. You’ll want to yell at the top of your lungs that they’re full of crap. You’ll have the urge to try and beat the truth into their skulls. That’s kind of the point though. You have to be the better person. You have to let them berate and demean you in ways that’ll make you feel like a child. Make it so they have to actually listen to themselves as they’re attacking someone they love.”

“And that somehow makes them less stubborn?” asked Diana skeptically.

“The goal isn’t to make them less stubborn. The goal is to put them in a position where they have to convince themselves they’re right and hope that they end up proving themselves wrong. And make no mistake – it doesn’t always happen. But you have to give them chances – often way more than one. As corny as it sounds, you have to have faith that the people you love will see things differently.”

It still sounded unappealing in so many ways, but it made more sense than anything Diana had been able to come up with on her own. She wasn’t going to win any arguments with her mother. That much was clear. Diana was less certain that her mother would reconsider her assumptions about men, man’s world, and the idea of her being in love with one.

She tried to imagine a confrontation with her mother where she just stood there, letting her scold and berate her for leaving her sisters for man’s world. It went against her every inclination, not fighting back and standing up for the truth. But at the same time, Diana believed in her heart that her mother would not allow her hate to completely blind her. She might not concede in any ways that she had been wrong. That simply was not in her nature, as a mother or as Queen of the Amazons. At the very least, the compassion and love that Diana knew her mother had in her heart might win out.

The more she imagined such a confrontation, the less outrageous it felt. It sounded like something that she had to endure because her mother certainly wouldn’t. And if the nightmares she had been having lately were any indication, this was something she couldn’t keep putting off. Someone had to be the one to humble themselves. Someone had to do the right thing, no matter how uncomfortable it might have been.

As Diana began accepting this difficult realization, she smiled towards Lois. She gave her an entirely new perspective on this issue. It was also quite apparent where she gained such insight.

“This sounds like something Superman taught you,” said Diana.

“Well I would _love_ to say I came up with it all by myself, but that would be way too dishonest for a friend,” said Lois with a grin. “He also once told me that a nice thing about being right is that no amount of stubbornness can change it. Some people just aren’t going to be dragged to it. They need to stumble towards it and you just have to be there waiting to pick them up.”

“It sounds like a tedious, frustrating process.”

“I know it does. But if reporting on Superman has taught me anything, it’s that 9 times out of 10 – that very process tends to be the one most worth following.”

It now seemed fitting, albeit in an unappealing way. That only further convinced Diana that this is what she would have to do in order to get through to her mother.

“You’ve given me some options to consider, Lois – including a few I never would’ve considered otherwise,” said Diana in a more serious tone. “In that respect, I can’t thank you enough.”

“You don’t need to,” said Lois with a friendly smile. “Like I said, you’re my best friend’s girl. Helping you means helping him. And let’s face it. There are some issues where men just can’t help as much as we need them to.”

“It’s unfortunate, but true. At some point I’ll still need to talk to Clark about this. At another point, I’ll need him to be in close proximity to my mother again. I’m not entirely sure how I’ll convince him that it’s a good idea.”

“I’d usually recommend the cute, puppy-dog eyes that get Jonathan to do what I want, but I’m not sure that would work with Clark,” said Lois.

“I’ll figure out a way. I love him and my mother enough to do what I must.”

Despite her reservations, Diana had a new sense of confidence and purpose in dealing with this issue. She now felt as though she could talk to Clark about it and present to him a viable means of dealing with this. The nightmares wouldn’t stop until she confronted it and she had to confront it soon before those nightmares became reality.

“Thanks again, Lois,” said Diana as she got up from the booth and paid for her share of the meal. “I know what I have to do now. Wish me luck.”

“I wish you all the luck in the world, girlfriend,” said Lois, “But don’t be surprised if even _that’s_ not enough.”

* * *

**Themyscira – House of Wisdom**

“How much longer are you going to be at this, Aleka?” said an exhausted Daphne.

“As long as I have to,” replied the imposing Amazon. “Have I not made that abundantly clear over the past six months?”

“You have, but it usually doesn’t take six months to complete such an endeavor. We’re all growing a bit concerned and not just because you won’t tell us the nature of this endeavor. But since you’ve also made clear that you won’t give this up, I’ll spare myself the trouble.”

“I appreciate that,” said Aleka flatly.

Daphne left her fellow Amazon to her work. Having been tasked with archive duty, she was the latest in a long line of sisters that failed to uncover what had been keeping Aleka so busy these past few months. At this point, neither she nor any other sisters wanted to know. Even if they did, Aleka was not going to reveal it.

The sun had set three hours ago and Aleka was still hunched over a study booth in the House of Wisdom, Themyscira’s main archive and primary institution of study. Everything from basic math to the arcane was studied in this facility. In addition to being great warriors, the Amazons carried on Greco-Roman traditions of valuing education, philosophy, and wisdom. Most Amazons indulged their curiosities within these halls at some point in their immortal lives. This was the first Aleka had ever studied anything other than combat so intently.

Six months ago, she had been tasked by the god, Apollo, to investigate an anomaly involving the Themyscira’s exiled princess. She hadn’t expected her investigation to spark so much curiosity. It had since gotten to a point where Aleka actually cut back on her participation in skirmishes within Tartarus, something she never did without a good reason. It had already drawn concern from her sisters. It even began to concern Aleka herself, but this task felt like something she couldn’t leave unresolved.

_‘This shouldn’t be so hard. Lord Apollo himself gave the impression that this would likely be a trivial matter at most. I’m starting to wonder if he even understood the implications here. Diana isn’t aging. And every bit of research I’ve conducted over these past few months indicates she won’t start aging anytime soon. It shouldn’t be possible or a disgraced exile, but it’s happening.’_

This undeniable fact kept Aleka intrigued. She had several books open in front of her, all of which provided detailed information into the nature of an Amazon’s immortality, the powers granted to them by the gods, and ways of understanding these forces through various arcane practices. She also had an assortment of materials and ingredients set up on a nearby table where she could carry out some of these practices. She had already made quite a mess, so much so that it upset her fellow Amazons seeking less ambitious studies. But Aleka refused to cease her efforts until she uncovered the truth.

_‘You’ve already shown you’re willing to keep secrets from your sisters, Diana. What else could you be hiding from us? Did you make a deal with Hades? Did you plunder some precious artifact? Honestly, nothing would surprise me at this point.’_

The imposing Amazon sneered at the recollection of Diana’s transgressions. It still enraged her in ways that set her apart from her fellow sisters, the extent to which Diana had shunned their honor and their traditions. While Aleka kept telling herself that she was she had been tasked to do, she couldn’t deny that a part of her sought vindication against the exiled princess.

Her efforts intensified with every dead end she encountered. In addition to the books, Aleka also had a long checklist she had been keeping since she began. This list documented all the rituals and incantations she had conducted over the past few months. Some were just tests. Others were more ambitious, tapping into forces few outside Themyscira could ever hope to understand. She initially expected to uncover some minor anomaly that would explain Diana’s condition. She was now convinced that there was nothing minor about it. The more she looked into it, the more she was convinced of its importance.

_‘An Amazon’s immortality is supposed to be governed by a simple set of rules. It’s a blessing of the gods. It can be granted, taken, abandoned, and sacrificed like any other. The gods are quite strict on enforcing these rules. If Diana broke any to keep her immortality, it should’ve caught their attention. But every test I’ve done keeps giving me conflicting results. There’s not even a hint that any divine rules have been broken. So how could you retain this blessing?’_

In a fit of frustration, Aleka shoved a stack of books aside and pounded her fist against the table. She then got up and began pacing, angry at her inability to get the answers she sought. This was one of those times where a swarm of angry harpies would be welcome. At least that would give her something to take her anger out on.

As she paced, the powerful Amazon kept probing her mind for explanations. There were plenty of ways for someone to corrupt the power of the gods for their own selfish ends, but there weren’t many ways to do so and get away with it. She had to be missing something.

_‘What am I even doing? I’m a warrior, not a mage! I don’t care what Lord Apollo says about loyalty. I am not qualified for this. I never was.’_

As Aleka paced, she passed a couple of statues depicting various gods. Apollo was among them, often displayed prominently along with the most powerful gods on Olympus. Power or not, Aleka still scolded his statue.

‘ _This is becoming a burden as much as it is a curiosity. It’s bad enough I have to keep this endeavor Queen Hippolyta. It’s even worse that she trusts me so much to not even ask me about what I’ve been doing. At some point, I’m going to have to tell her. I owe it to her to have an explanation, but I’m no closer now than I was six months ago. There must be something I’m missing…something I overlooked…or something I’m not allowing myself to see.’_

Aleka continued to sneer at Apollo’s statue, hoping on some level that this illegitimate offspring of Zeus felt it on some levels. She would’ve crushed the statue in her hands if it weren’t an act of blasphemy. Serving the gods was never easy, but they rarely offered any reprieve.

She resumed her restless pacing, making her way back towards her table. Along the way, a book from one of the stacks she set up near the table fell right on the floor in front of her. When it landed, it somehow opened itself to a specific section. In seeing this, Aleka felt a strange gust in the air. It gave the impression that someone on Olympus understood her frustration. Her first instinct was to pray. Then her eyes fell upon the contents of the book.

There was nothing special about the title or the contents. It was detailed chronicle of various demigods and demigoddesses that had served Olympus in varying degrees over the centuries. It was no secret that the gods were fond of seducing mortals. Hercules himself was the result of such a union. Aleka didn’t think much of it at first. But when she picked up the book and looked at a depiction of a god seducing a mortal, a once unconscionable thought entered her mind.

_‘No. That…that isn’t possible. It couldn’t…Queen Hippolyta wouldn’t…never in a million immortal lifetimes!’_

She kept shaking her head, trying to expunge the thought. It was no use. It made too much sense. The implications made her ill in a way no battlefield injury could match. Her hands actually trembled as she looked at the picture in the book and contemplated the scenarios.

_‘I won’t believe it! She is my queen – my sister in battle. I trust her completely. She would never deceive me or her sisters with something like this. Never!’_

Aleka kept saying this to herself again and again in a desperate attempt to make it true, but it wasn’t enough. Loyalty and trust only went so far. She had to make sure. It wasn’t just to fulfill the task given to her by Apollo either. She had to see whether her unquestioning loyalty to Hippolyta was vindicated.

She set the book aside and rushed to the table where she kept her assortment of arcane artifacts. She sifted through the disorganized mess as quickly as she could, eventually retrieving an empty wine glass, some crumpled up powders, and holy water. Testing this new theory would be painfully easy. It was a simple test that had been done many times before in the past. It didn’t take a high priestess to detect the blood of a demigod. It had just been a long time since somebody had to.

After mixing the ingredients in a small stone bowl as quickly as her hands would allow, Aleka poured the powdered blend into the glass and then added the holy water. She swirled it lightly, causing it to mix until it turned blood red. It now required one more ingredient to confirm what she dreaded.

“My Queen, I hope you’ll forgive me for what happens next…because I might not be able to forgive you,” said Aleka in a solemn voice.

From the clutter on the table, she retrieved one of Diana’s hair brushes that she had left behind. It still contained strands of her hair. She had already used it for a number of tests over the past few months, but none like this. Upon finding a single strand, Aleka held her breath in anticipation.

“Damn you, Diana. Whatever the horrible truth might be – damn you for making it necessary,” she said.

Her hands still shaking, the imposing Amazon dropped the strand of hair into the wine glass. The reaction was almost immediate. The hair disintegrated upon contact, causing the mixture within to glow. As it glowed, the crimson substance began moving, swirling steadily as it interacted with the forces of the gods. Aleka gripped the side of the table and watched intently, waiting for the final result. It only took a few minutes, but it might as well have been several lifetimes. When it finally came, her heart sank to the deepest recesses of Hades.

“By the gods – may they have mercy on my soul,” she cried.

Aleka now had confirmation. The mixture within the glass turned clear, becoming as pure as the cleanest water. Only the blood of a demigod born from the union of a god and a mortal could cause such a reaction. It revealed that the same Queen Hippolyta that she loved and trusted all her life had lied. Her daughter had not been born of clay. She had been born from an unholy union between her and a god.

The usually strong Amazon seethed in disgust, ready to smash this table and everything within her reach. The mere thought of her queen laying with a god to produce her beloved daughter was disgusting enough, but lying to her and her sisters made it all the more egregious. She growled and seethed in an effort to contain her anger. Then the mixture in the glass had another reaction she didn’t expect.

The substance kept on swirling after it became clear. According to the basic rules of the arcane, as understood by all Amazons, this should’ve been the end of the procedure. However, there was one exception to that rule and it manifested in the form of a large, blinding lightning bolt that shot up from the glass. It illuminated the entire area for a brief moment. It startled Aleka so much that she fell back from the table, but it didn’t take long for her to recognize this reaction.

“By all the souls in Hades – I take back what I said about mercy,” she said.

At that moment, the proud Amazon no longer cared about containing her outrage. She let out an angry yell as she smashed the stone table with her fists, breaking it and shattering the glass in the process. She let out more enraged cries as she smashed her fists against anything that stood in her way while storming towards the exit. Now only one thought dominated her mind. She had to confront her queen. She had to tell her that the truth about Diana and the god she fathered her with had been uncovered.

* * *

**Helion Solar Research Lab**

“Welcome to Helion Solar, Mr. Kent. My name is Helena Parker,” greeted a middle-aged woman in a business suit and glasses. “I represent the company’s public affairs division and I’ll be your guide through this process.”

“Pleased to meet you, Ms. Parker,” said Clark Kent with his typical farm-boy manners. “I’m hoping this will be a quick, easy process to complete.”

“As do I. I speak on behalf of Mr. Disole himself when I say we seek a swift resolution to this misunderstanding between us and the Daily Planet.”

“I promise I’ll do my part.”

Clark’s investigation into Helion Solar was off to a pleasant start. He expected as such. Every competent reporter learned early on that no person or company kept a dark secret by being hostile. It was always more effective to come off as respectable. Even good reporters had a hard time seeing through such a ruse. Clark liked to think that Perry wouldn’t have trusted him with this story if he didn’t think he was that good a reporter.

When he scheduled this meeting, he noticed that the people he talked to were unusually anxious. It bore all the traits of people surrounded by a culture of secrecy and mistrust. Any organization that did this had to have something to hide. The employees probably even suspected it. They had to know that there was an ongoing conflict between Helion Solar and the Daily Planet. They also had all the symptoms of an organization built around secrecy. These people rarely had any idea of what was going on and Clark had no intention of pestering them. He just planned to keep an open eye for anything that might make add a new dimension to this story.

He arrived at Helion Solar’s research lab expecting plenty of ruses. From the outside, it had all the typical features of a well-run, well-secured facility. It was built to not appear too ominous in any way. The whole property was surrounded by gates, but not completely obscured from public view. It wasn’t located in the middle of nowhere either. Instead, it was nestled within a very successful, very active industrial area. Even after Clark went through the tedious process of being cleared by the various security personnel, he saw nothing that he hadn’t seen at similar facilities. However, this only heightened his curiosity.

_‘This place is already giving me a very Lexcorp-type vibe. Create a functioning facility that pays taxes and creates jobs – check. Give that facility a level of security that looks like an airport on the outside and the White House on the inside – check. Send a pretty young woman in a low-cut dress and an undersized blouse to greet the reporter – double check. They’re following the public relations playbook for shady private companies to the letter.’_

Clark followed Ms. Parker through the lobby, which had the spacious ambience of a sophisticated tech company from Silicon Valley. When they arrived at another checkpoint, a couple of guards waved him over with a scanning wand and confiscated his cell phone, leaving him only with a notepad and pen. Then they entered through a set of heavy doors that might as well have been on loan from NASA. It raised even more red flags.

_‘This is way too much security for a solar energy company. Between the hidden blast doors up front, the lead-lined walls, and the bulletproof glass for all the windows – these people have to be hiding much more than some fancy new solar cells. My X-ray vision can’t pick up on much. Some of what they’ll show me will probably be staged. For now, I need to play by their rules and wait for them to make their first mistake. People with dark secrets always do.’_

He kept his suspicions hidden as Ms. Parker led him through a few more secure doors and into the central research area. As Clark expected, this area was bustling with activity. It was spacious, spanning several football fields in length with enough room above to house a small office building. It was also brightly lit, as most would expect of a company specializing in solar energy research. And in numerous specified areas, workers and researchers carried out various activities that ranged from strength-testing new materials to packaging shipments of solar cells. Most of the activity appeared genuine, but some of it still felt like part of the ruse.

Ms. Parker walked fast, not giving him time to scrutinize these activities. She continued leading him through the areas, making sure they were never far from a security guard or a well-lit area. She had a script to follow and she had no intention of deviating from it in the slightest.

“As you can see, business has been brisk for Helion Solar,” she said proudly. “As anyone who reads the Wall Street Journal knows, green energy is a growing industry. Our founder and CEO, Mr. Disole, has accelerated that growth through his various consolidation efforts. What was once a veritable hodgepodge of competing companies is now a cohesive, competent organization.”

“It’s impressive. That much I’m happy to report,” said Clark, “But you’re telling me something anyone can figure out by reading the company history page on your website. I’m more interested in the story that made Mr. Disole throw his lawyers at us.”

“And I intend to explore that story,” assured Helena. “I initially planned to spend some time giving the Daily Planet a better idea of our situation, but then I remembered how impatient people get when lawyers get involved.”

“I’d say I’m more curious than impatient, but don’t say that to my editor.”

“I’ll do my best to indulge your curiosity, Mr. Kent. Just understand that there are some aspects about our company and our decisions that I cannot divulge.”

“I’m not expecting you to tell me everything about everything. At the very least, I’d just like some context into Mr. Disole’s decision,” said Clark in as mannerly a way as possible.

“That, I think I can give you.”

The woman smiled and led him towards what a couple of signs identified as the D1 test area. This area stood adjacent to the westernmost wall and laden with bulky machinery, which Clark identified as an advanced light projection apparatus that simulated sunlight. He jotted down some notes, even doing a quick sketch of the setup. He also noticed a number of technicians in white clean-suits walking around under a dome-shaped projector, arranging various solar cell prototypes on the floor. A couple of security guards made sure they didn’t get too close, but Ms. Parker made sure they got a good view of the area.

As they approached the safety area, one of the guards handed her a two sets of bulky goggles. She put on one and gave the other to Clark before signaling to the workers to stand clear.

“Here, put these on,” Helena instructed. “I’ve set up this test to help demonstrate where we are as a company. I think it’ll provide at least some of the context you’re looking.”

“What kind of test is this, if you don’t mind me asking?” said Clark as he put on the goggles.

“The kind where the results will speak for themselves,” she answered.

“Are these results I can actually report? I’d like to know that what I say about Helion won’t get me sued.”

She casually laughed rather than answer directly. Most people would’ve hesitated. This woman kept giving the impression that this was not a major issue, which to Clark was another subtle red flag.

“Since I’m not a reporter, I won’t tell you how to do your job. I only ask that you be both objective and understanding when assessing our situation. You see, what initially upset Mr. Disole wasn’t the story itself. It was the reaction it triggered.”

“Wasn’t it a good reaction?” questioned Clark, maintaining a serious tone. “It got a lot of people curious about Helion Solar’s work. Most CEOs welcome that sort of intrigue.”

“Mr. Disole is not most CEOs,” retorted Ms. Parker. “He understands why media outlets like the Daily Planet get curious about our advances. He even understands why other companies would jump at the opportunity to use this attention to attract more customers and investors. Here’s his main point of contention – the Daily Planet and others like it give the impression that we’re about to make an advance so great that it’s going to completely disrupt the energy market.”

“But wasn’t that impression built on hard facts?” questioned Clark. “I know the difference between hard facts and hype. So do many of the reporters at the Daily Planet.”

“You’re not entirely wrong, but you’re still missing the point, Mr. Kent. This is what led Mr. Disole to react the way he did. You see, he is not a personality like Bill Gates or Bruce Wayne. He’s a man who likes to make sure that when he has a product, it needs no hype. To achieve such perfection, he seeks to avoid unnecessary scrutiny of any kind. That’s why he makes clear to everyone at Helion Solar’s privacy is a top priority.”

“I get the need for privacy, especially in a competitive market. But there’s a fine line between privacy and secrecy,” Clark pointed out.

“It’s not just about keeping our secrets from the competition. It’s about making sure we stay focused on our goals.”

She made it sound so reasonable and savvy. In this context, the reporters at the Daily Planet were the bad guys by probing a company for a story that it wasn’t ready to tell. It would’ve put Clark and the Planet as a whole in a very awkward position if it didn’t reek of dishonesty.

_‘Her voice is flat, her palms are sweaty, and her pulse is erratic. She’s not lying. She believes what she’s saying. She also knows on some levels that it’s only part of the truth.’_

Clark might not have been a businessman, but something about this so-called business strategy didn’t make sense. Good businessmen, and even bad businessmen, didn’t put all these resources into maintaining their privacy. Even corrupt defense contractors didn’t shy away from overhyped products.

It didn’t make economic sense, or logical sense for that matter, to keep all their work private. Even if this Mr. Disole had more money than Bruce Wayne, he couldn’t possibly dedicate so many resources to hiding their work. As the workers continued to prepare the demonstration, Clark found himself looking around the research area and noting all the ways this didn’t add up.

_‘Tech like this doesn’t come cheap. I can do basic math. I know what the profit margins are on solar energy. I also aced AP Physics in high school. I know the limitations of solar energy. All this equipment and all these people – it just doesn’t fit. What are they trying to hide?’_

This question became increasingly important as Clark made a few notes about what he observed. His attention shifted away from the equipment to the people. Many of the employees kept their heads down as they went through the motions of their respective jobs. They didn’t make eye-contact and the guards watched their every move. It was hardly consistent with an organization focused on the goals this woman claimed.

_‘Whatever it is, one thing is definitely clear – this organization does have a goal. I see too many resources and too much refinement for there not to be. I wish I could meet this Mr. Disole to get a better idea of what that goal could be. Something tells me it’s not all about market share.’_

Clark made sure he didn’t appear too distracted. After writing down a few notes that would surely intrigue Perry, he turned his attention back to the demonstration.

By now, the workers had cleared the area. One of them signaled Ms. Parker to indicate they were ready. She nodded to let them know it was okay to proceed. A couple of alarms started blaring and the guards made sure nobody got too close, leaving her and Clark with the best possible view of the test area.

“We’re ready now, Mr. Kent. Watch and see for yourself. I think it’ll get our point across,” said Ms. Parker.

Clark watched closely as the light projection apparatus lit up. Within moments, it was radiating power at a level similar to that of the sun. This light was directed from the dish-shaped structure hanging over the test area and onto the array of solar cell prototypes. At first, the cells reacted like ordinary solar cells in that they didn’t react at all. After a few moments, some of the cells reacted in a way that defied math, physics, and standard business practices.

“That’s…not normal,” said Clark anxiously.

“Relatively speaking,” said Ms. Parker curtly.

It started with the light itself. The concentrated beam of artificial sunlight flickered, as though some unseen force was bending and warping it like a rubber band. The solar cells then took on a distinctly dark purplish hue, now radiating with an energy that steadily overtook the light. It spread like an infection, warping the light even more along the way. And as it spread, the purplish glow from the solar cells spread beyond the light. That’s when Clark felt it.

It hit him like a kryptonite hammer to the head. His vision blurred and he felt a sharp burning sensation on his skin. He soon became disoriented and nauseous, but not in the way he usually felt around kryptonite. This was much worse.

“Ungh…” he groaned, dropping his notepad and clutching his head.

“Is everything okay, Mr. Kent? You’re going to miss the best part,” said Ms. Parker. “What you’re seeing is an imperfect product that isn’t ready for scrutiny. When you see just how imperfect it is, you’ll understand why we’re so concerned with avoiding such scrutiny.”

Clark barely heard her. He kept trying to regain his composure. He bent down to pick up his notepad. But when he saw his hand, he noticed something that evoked horror rather than intrigue.

The veins in his arm turned a dark shade of purple, not unlike that of the glowing solar cells. He had never seen kryptonite do anything like this before. With growing concern, he used his telescopic vision to take a closer look. In analyzing his own cells, he saw traces of an energy very different from the kind that usually affected him. There were only so many types of energy that could hurt him like this. One in particular came to mind.

_‘Magic…these people are using magic of some sort. And it’s the kind that really hurts me.’_

It was Superman’s secret vulnerability. Unlike kryptonite, magic was a mysterious, intangible force that few could wield. He had encountered it before with the likes of Zatanna and Dr. Fate. He knew how much it could hurt him, but he had never encountered any like this. After looking at his arm and then back at the solar cells in the test area, he came to a chilling conclusion that made this bigger than any story.

“Thank you, Ms. Parker. I think I’ve seen all I need to see,” said Clark as he stood up and put away his notepad.

“Are you sure? You look…unwell,” she said curiously.

“I’m fine. And you’ve made your point. I understand now. I now know exactly why Mr. Disole didn’t want people looking into this.”

It caught Helena off-guard. She expected to have to go to elaborate lengths to convince a reporter that her boss had valid reasons for attacking the Dailey Planet’s report on this company. Even if she didn’t fully understand those reasons, she was prepared to give many more demonstrations to get her point across. Now Clark Kent couldn’t be convinced fast enough.

Not one to press her luck, she signaled one of the technicians to end the experiment. The physical effects and the nausea quickly faded for Clark. He tried not to come off as too suspicious. He couldn’t come off as too suspicious. This situation was already way more dangerous than he ever could’ve imagined.

“Very well then, I’ll give Mr. Disole a call right now and let him know,” said Helena, still very much in shock.

“Thank you. I’ll check in with the guards and see myself out,” said Clark.

“While I’m glad you came to an understanding, I’m still obligated to ask what you intend to report.”

“As far as I’m concerned, there’s nothing too report, Ms. Parker. There’s no reason to make this a bigger story than it already is. I’ll tell Mr. White that a retraction is in order here. If he gets upset, I’ll make sure he deals with me and not you.”

Helena Parker couldn’t have been more relieved. Even as he followed a guard towards the exit, Clark heard her pulse finally stabilize as she breathed a sigh of relief. She hid it well, revealing just how anxious she had been to get through this. While she would sleep easier tonight, he now faced a new nightmare that he couldn’t hope to face alone.

_‘Just what I need…some mystery man tinkering with magic. There’s no way anyone would use magic like this to make better solar cells. There’s also no way they just happen to be utilizing magic that hurts me this badly. I need to find out more. I may not be an expert, but I’m dating someone who dealt with actual gods. This is definitely one of those things where a little divine assistance would be a big help.’_

* * *

**Themyscira – Amazon Court**

The day-to-day affairs of the Amazons were often more tedious than combat operations. Chores, training, and study consumed far more of their time than taking on the beasts of Tartarus. These less glorious aspects of their lives helped keep their society going. There had to be Amazons that specialized in hunting, farming, fishing, medicine, clothing, blacksmithing, food preparation, architecture, magic, theology, art, and philosophy. Every Amazon had their role. Most were earned. Some were assigned. It was the queen’s job to ensure that every role was fulfilled and the Amazons were ready to fight at a moment’s notice.

Hippolyta used to take such pride in that job. She had earned the role of queen through toil and strife, embodying all the strengths of a true Amazon. But over the past year-and-a-half, her ability to feel such pride had been shaken. Losing her daughter to exile and dealing with the growing demands of the beleaguered gods took a toll on her, so much so that it began to show in how she conducted herself.

“This is becoming a disturbing trend, my queen – one we must reverse if we’re to avert utter disaster,” said Philippus, one of Hippolyta’s highest ranking generals and most trusted combat advisors. “Our operations in Tartarus are stalling on all fronts. Our sisters are as strong as ever, but our enemies appear to be getting stronger.”

“This is not a matter of conjecture. I’ve seen the wounds our sisters have suffered. They _are_ getting stronger,” said Epione, the Amazon’s chief healer.

“And we still have no idea why?” asked Hippolyta as she sat on her throne, pretending she still had the poise of a queen.

“We only know what the gods have revealed to us and they haven’t revealed anything new in quite some time,” said Menalippe, the queen’s top oracle. “In all my prayers and visions, I keep getting the same message. Chaos from the rapidly-changing world beyond our island is continuing to affect the chaos in Tartarus.”

“I know we’re not one to question the gods, but I’m starting to think that’s an excuse rather than an explanation,” said Hippolyta.

“My spirit tells me to trust the gods, but my gut tells me you might be right,” said Menalippe. “A part of me even dares to wonder if even they understand what’s causing this conflict.”

“I would dare go even farther,” said Penthesilea, one of Hippolyta’s most trusted advisors. “I think this _chaos_ , as it were, is only part of the problem. There might be other factors that the gods are keeping to themselves.”

“You would dare accuse the gods of such deceit?” gasped Menalippe.

“It would be more practical if the full truth made our efforts more futile. And the gods are nothing if not pragmatic…most of the time,” said Penthesilea.

It was a disturbing idea, the gods deceiving the Amazons. This was usually the part where Hippolyta scorned her sisters for even thinking such thoughts, but she had neither the pride nor the spirit to do so. She let her sisters dread. That seemed to be all they had to look forward to these days.

It was times like this that Hippolyta truly missed her daughter. During moments of hardship or dread, she took comfort in the knowledge that she could embrace her daughter. Feeling her grasp and her warmth filled her with such strength. She had been missing that strength since Diana left. Now all she had was her sisters and her work. She drowned herself in the more tedious affairs of being queen in an effort to distract her from the massive hole in her heart. It didn’t help that the wars that the Amazons had successfully fought for centuries were now turning against them. It just made it harder to be the queen she needed to be.

While the queen didn’t dare show any hint of despair, her sisters knew her well enough to see that she was suffering. She hid it well, but not well enough to conceal the sorrow she had been carrying for the past six months.

Everyone knew the cause, but few even dared to utter Diana’s name in her presence. Losing her scarred her more than every battle she ever fought. Never-the-less, the Amazons had to keep fighting.

“My queen, I know your spirit is hardened from this constant bombardment of bad news, but…” said Philippus before the queen cut her off.

“Please…let’s not make this a discussion of my spirit,” said Hippolyta firmly. “I don’t need to be reminded of my recent _shortcomings_.”

“To call them mere shortcomings would be an insult to your honor,” retorted Penthesilea.

“Honor alone is not going to compensate…nor will it turn the tide of this conflict,” said Hippolyta.

“I would never make light of your honor, my queen, but I’m afraid from a purely pragmatic perspective, you’re quite right,” said Timandra, the Amazons’ chief historian. “More sisters have fallen in the past year than have fallen in the past three centuries. All the honor in Elysium won’t compensate for our lack of numbers.”

Hippolya frowned at such a cold assessment, but that didn’t make it less relevant. She remembered years ago how Diana once questioned how the Amazons could continue to be a functioning army if their birthrate remained so low. Hippolyta told her that the strength and spirit of their sisters would prevent that. They would never allow themselves to fall in battle at such a rate where it would be a problem. Now she saw the flaws in her explanation and Diana wasn’t even here to vindicate herself.

“I’m well-aware of this issue and I’ve been considering reforms to address this,” said Hippolyta. “I’ve already spoken to a number of sisters. They’ve expressed a willingness to bear more children.”

“I’ve prayed to Aphrodite and Demeter about this as well,” said Menalippe. “They say they are willing to aid us, but they’ll need approval from Hera and you know how _stringent_ she is when it comes to birthing new Amazons.”

“Indeed I do,” said Hippolyta. “It might take a while, it needs to be done.”

“Not that I disagree with the need for reform, but what of the long-term consequences?” said Philippus. “Having more Amazons makes sense tactically, but going through the process of making them – that might not sit well with some sisters.”

It was another unpleasant assessment that Hippolyta had to digest. This was where her sisters’ attitudes towards the actual mechanics of procreation came in. So much of that process had been obscured by the atrocities committed by Hercules. They never dared to question those attitudes. Hippolyta herself certainly didn’t. But between Diana’s exile and the crisis before her, she might not have the luxury of being so stubborn.

“I understand the risks. I also understand the reservations that we’re sure to encounter. But during these difficult times, we must think with our brains more than our hearts,” said Hippolyta.

“Sadly, that seems to be your only method of thinking in recent times,” said Epione under her breath.

“Make no mistake. We will continue to struggle. We will continue to suffer losses,” the queen continued. “These battles in Tartarus keep getting more taxing and the gods know it. That is why we must continue to have faith. We must have faith in them and in each other to overcome this. Because without that faith and all the trust it brings us, we will surely fall.”

Her words rang true, even if her spirit didn’t follow. It perfectly symbolized the cold, pragmatic approach with which Hippolyta had approached her role as queen since her daughter’s exile. It still did not sit well with her sisters, seeing their queen conduct herself with so little passion, but they continued to place their trust in her as they had for so long. They understood that this trust was among the Amazon’s greatest strength.

Despite their lingering reservations, the loyal Amazons showed support for their queen. They remained willing to work with Hippolyta and deal with any consequences her reforms might bring. It allowed her to feel some sense of relief, knowing her sisters were still so loyal. It meant they could continue to deal with these growing issues with the same unity that had carried them through the centuries.

“You’re right, my queen,” said Philippus. “You still have our trust. As such, we are prepared to share your struggles.”

“Until our dying breath,” added Penthesilea.

“Thank you,” said Hippolyta, managing a faint smile.

Hippolyta prepared to continue the meeting, ready to drown herself in more royal bureaucracy. Then the doors to the chamber burst open unexpectedly and a very upset Aleka stormed in.

“Hippolyta!” the imposing woman yelled. “I’ve an important matter to discuss with you!”

“Aleka…you of all people dare raise your voice to the queen?” gasped Philippus as she and Penthesilea instinctively stood to defend her.

“I’ll raise my voice as loud as I have to!” she spat as she forcefully shoved her sisters out of the way in approaching the queen. “You and everyone on this island must hear what I have to say!”

Hippolyta gasped at Aleka’s tone. She had never spoke with such anger towards her. As she approached, she actually saw tears in her eyes. This was a woman who never shed a tear after centuries of combat. It gave Hippolyta a sinking feeling.

“Aleka, please calm yourself,” she coaxed as she rose up from her throne.

“Don’t tell me to be calm!” yelled Aleka. “All this time…all these centuries of loyalty…did they mean _anything_ to you?!”

“You sound _unwell_ , sister. You are speaking in madness,” said Epione as she attempted to calm her fellow Amazon.

“I am perfectly well, Epione. It is our beloved queen who is mad!” spat Aleka, shoving off her gesture. “I know the truth, Hippolyta. I know about Diana.”

These words struck a blow that shattered Hippolyta’s royal demeanor in ways no force on Earth or Olympus ever could. Her sinking feeling turned into complete and utter dread. If her sister knew what she thought she knew, then she had no idea the wrath she would unleash by revealing it to all.

“Aleka, I order you to silence yourself this instant,” said Hippolyta, her voice lacking her usual authority.

“No Hippolyta. Not this time,” she said, a hard sob mixing with her outrage. “Tell me why you lied to us. Tell me why you spat in the face of Hera and sired your beloved daughter with Zeus!”

This accusation shocked her fellow Amazons. Had it not come from Aleka, they never would have given it any credence. But seeing the way Hippolyta trembled under the weight of her words, it evoked too much passion to be the product of mere madness.

Hippolyta’s first instinct was to deny it outright, but her heart would not allow her tongue to lie again to her sisters. If Aleka truly knew, then that would only make it worse. She had no choice, knowing fully what the consequences entailed.

“My queen…is this true?” asked Menalippe anxiously.

“It…it’s true,” she said Hippolyta sadly, “But please understand that…”

She never got a chance to justify herself. The second she admitted it, a sharp gust of wind swept through the chamber. They could all feel a divine presence descend upon them. This time, they took no comfort in such a presence. This was not the response to an answered prayer. This was direct retribution for a most serious transgression.

“Hera…forgive me,” cried Hippolyta as she fell to her knees.

_“Oh Hippolyta – you picked the worst possible to time to ask for mercy,”_ came the very angry voice of Hera.

As her fellow Amazons watched on, a glowing aura of energy surrounded their queen. Tears now streamed down her eyes as the energy left her paralyzed. She tried to speak, but no words came out. Her voice had been taken and her strength soon followed.

From the glowing energy, two glowing rope-shaped band formed. These bands wrapped themselves around her wrists and ankles, putting her in a submissive state the likes of which she hadn’t been since her darkest hour at the hands of Hercules. This time, it wasn’t the wrath of Hercules she faced. Now she, and her fellow Amazons by default, faced a wrath far greater and no amount of praying could save them.

* * *

**Mount Olympus**

It used to be a rarity for Zeus, Hades, and Poseidon to meet. When the great war with the Titans ended, they established an order where the three of them could manage their respective domains on their own. Poseidon ruled the sea. Hades ruled the Underworld. Zeus ruled the sky. At no point where they supposed to interfere with one another’s domain. Such interference wasn’t supposed to be necessary. That had changed and not just because mankind stopped worshipping them. Forces that even the gods couldn’t control now made it necessary for them to work together in ways they once avoided.

The three of them had been standing over a large table that doubled as a vision portal for hours now. They had been going over their various efforts to combat the escalating chaos within their respective realms. On every level, these forces that they had kept at bay for so many centuries became stronger. Something beyond the realm of the gods was fueling them and it was getting to a point where even their power could no longer hold it back.

“You’re not giving me the reassurance I hoped, brother,” said an irate Poseidon. “I was under the impression that this meeting was supposed to reaffirm our efforts, but all we’ve talked about are setbacks and uncertainties.”

“Since I’m usually the first one to voice my displeasure at these meetings, I’ll refrain from belaboring the point,” said Hades. “I’ll only add that our efforts seem to be exchanging progress for ineptitude lately.

“I hear your concerns, my brothers. I assure you they are not lost on me,” said Zeus with a demeanor that could only be achieved by the king of the gods.

“Are they?” questioned Poseidon. “We keep struggling and sacrificing, but achieve so little in return. How can you claim to understand when your methods do not change?”

“I don’t like agreeing with Poseidon this much, but he speaks the truth,” said Hades. “You keep conducting yourself as though we’re still worshipped. Those times ended long ago. Now you overestimate your power while undermining ours. How can that possibly equip you to deal with this crisis?”

At another time in another era, Zeus wouldn’t have hesitated to strike his brothers for such disrespect. He was the Ruler of Olympus and King of the Gods, a title he earned by leading them to victory against the titans. But these times were different. He could no longer afford such arrogance. None of the gods could anymore and that was part of the problem.

The King of the Gods still vividly recalled those times when arrogance was his only threat. While being worshipped by mortals and having dominion over his fellow gods, his power was so great that maintaining the balance of forces rarely burdened him. He could do as he pleased and please himself he did, far more than he should have. It often came at the expense of vulnerable mortals and even his fellow gods, but he didn’t care. He was the king. That title afforded him all the protection he needed. It took a tragedy and a great atrocity to change that.

When Hercules, one of the many illegitimate children he fathered with mortals, attacked the Amazons, it became a turning point in his rule. The Amazons were devout patrons of Olympus, far more so than other mortal of lackluster piety, yet they suffered because of him. While he did not order Hercules to attack the Amazons, his willingness to let it happen was a sobering moment that resonated with him to this day. In many ways, that moment led him to this conflict because it changed the way Olympus functioned.

“Attacks within Tartarus, uprisings in the ruins of Lemuria, and incursions from the realm of Thanatos in the Underworld – these are not signs of a stable order,” continued Poseidon. “We kept all these forces at bay for so long, even without the worship of the mortals. But you’ve allowed us to become complacent.”

“Be careful with your accusations, Poseidon,” warned Zeus. “Complacency is not the sole cause of this current conflict.”

“But it is a major factor in what led us here,” said Hades. “We might have been able to get away with it for many centuries, it was only a matter of time before the forces of chaos became strong enough to overwhelm us.”

“You’re assuming you know what’s behind those forces,” said Zeus.

“And you’re assuming we can stay the course when so many signs say otherwise,” said the God of the Underworld.

“We’ve noticed those signs more than you, Zeus. You haven’t changed, but everything else has,” said Poseidon. “Just look at how the mortal world has changed. The last century alone has created an order where gods like us have no place or authority.”

To make his point, Poseidon used the vision portal in the table to conjure images of this rapidly changing world. They included images of modern cities, diverse societies, and technology that tapped into power once reserved for the gods. It sent a clear message that this was not the same world that once worshipped them.

“It’s worse than that,” added Hades. “Now beings of power once reserved for gods and demigods are walking the earth. They – along with the many mortal advances – have changed the way energy flows through our realms.”

“I’ve felt too. So have you, brother,” said Poseidon. “Remember, you were the one that said we had to cut ties with the mortal world. You were the one that said we had to stop answering prayers.”

“I remember, Poseidon. And I do not regret that decision in the slightest,” said Zeus strongly.

“Well maybe you should reconsider it because your decisions since then have limited our power. It’s only recently that it has come to haunt us, but they’re still _your_ decisions. And if you’re not willing to make new ones, then I promise you others will.”

Zeus could only fume under his brothers’ critical gaze. What infuriated him most was that his brothers made so many valid points. His decisions had led them to this moment. It all started with his decision to aid the Amazons. Hera saw in them the kind of piety that few mortals showed. He saw it too, but he also saw a sign that the way Olympus functioned had to change.

In the end, the Amazons were the last prayers the Olympians ever answered. After Zeus aided Hera in blessing their spirits and establishing Themyscira, he decreed that the gods were to cease further entanglements with the mortal world. He even promised Hera that he would refrain from further affairs. Few of his fellow gods were happy with this decision, but it had to be made.

“I know what you’re hoping I’ll decide, brothers. I can tell you now that you’re wasting your time. I _won’t_ do it,” said Zeus firmly.

“Again, you astound me with your stubbornness,” said Hades.

“Maybe you shouldn’t be astounded, Hades. When has he ever changed his mind about something so important?” chided Poseidon.

“This has nothing to do with decisions. You know why I decided to sever ties with the mortal world. And I know why you wish to re-establish those ties. In both cases, the answer is the same. It would absolutely do more harm than good.”

“Says who?” scoffed Poseidon. “Are you prepared to determine that consorting with mortals won’t give us the boost we need?”

“It’s not like it would even be that hard,” added Hades. “The mortals have figures with god-like powers running around. They even have this new magic they call ‘social media’ to spread the word. Surely at least some of these billions of souls are capable of aiding us.”

“And it only takes a handful of souls to do the exact opposite,” retorted Zeus. “At this point in our struggle, that is a risk we cannot take.”

“You keep saying this every time we meet, but offer _nothing_ in terms of alternatives,” said Poseidon. “We are willing to follow your lead, brother.”

“Speak for yourself,” muttered Hades.

“But we need something more…something better than what we’ve been doing,” Poseidon went on. “We all have so very much to lose. Give us a way to succeed together or we’ll all fail on our own.”

It came off as threatening, but it also had hints of desperation. Zeus could already surmise the plan they wanted to follow. It involved the same tactics they once used in ancient times, venturing into the mortal world to seek worship and entanglements. It might give them more strength to combat this chaos, but Zeus remembered all too well the price that came with it.

The atrocities of Hercules showed Zeus what happened when gods interfered with mortals. It might have empowered them, but it hardened the spirits of mankind. That was how a spirit like Hercules could justify his atrocities. It was how mortals themselves justified their own atrocities, always ascribing their deeds to the gods they worshipped. And with that power came too much corruption. Zeus remained convinced that had he not made this decision, Olympus would have fallen long ago. Now they faced a much greater challenge. Once again, he would have to make difficult decisions to preserve their order and that of the mortals.

“My brothers – think long and hard about what you’re suggesting,” said Zeus. “Don’t just think about the short-term gains. Look at the long-term consequences of what mortal entanglements will lead to.”

“As if you’ve dared to give this more than a passing thought?” scoffed Hades.

“Oh I’ve given this more thought than I care to admit, Hades,” said the King of the Gods strongly. “Rarely has a day gone by where I haven’t considered it – seeking to recapture the power that once made us so capable yet so arrogant.”

“And now that same arrogance is all that is keeping you from changing your mind?” scoffed Poseidon. “How is that not irony in its most divine form.”

“No Poseidon. You couldn’t be more wrong. You can’t see it because I was far the most guilty of succumbing to such arrogance than either of you. As such, I know all too well what happens when we entwine ourselves with mortals. It took many mistakes and oversights for me to realize how bad it can get. And I’m not just referring to the many offspring I sired and the conflicts I fueled.”

“Although I’m sure that’s a significant part of it,” said Hades under his breath.

“But no matter how long it took, it revealed to us all a valuable lesson that we cannot afford to overlook. Whereas mortals might be content to exchange one conflict for another, we must hold ourselves to a higher standard. We must rise to the challenge before us. We must look to the future for strength and not allow the mistakes of the past to…”

But before Zeus could finish making his point, a sudden pain struck him. The poise that the King of the Gods always maintained in the presence of his brothers faltered, causing him to grasp his side and lean over the table. It startled Hades and Poseidon almost as much as it startled him. It had been a long time since they had ever seen their brother struck by such weakness.

“Brother? Are you…unwell?” asked Poseidon anxiously.

“Can you actually be unwell?” added Hades.

Zeus barely heard them. All he could focus on was the stabbing pain. It wasn’t physical in that he didn’t feel it in his body. This pain came from somewhere else entirely. It was like a scar that had been hidden for so long that he no longer thought about it. Then, without warning, the wound reopened.

The King of Olympus had endured many scars, going all the way back to the war with the Titans, but this one ran much deeper. It took him a moment to realize where this was coming from, but he came to recognize it all too quickly. As soon as it dawned on him, Zeus was overcome with a dread that overwhelmed even a god.

“No…not now. This can’t be happening now!” he exclaimed.

“I want to claim this is a stunt, but I know you too well, brother. Even you cannot be this deceptive,” said Hades, now taking this seriously as he came to his brother’s aid.

“What is it? And how much worse can we expect things to get?” asked Poseidon, not in the mood for more chaos.

“It…it’s Hippolyta and the Amazons. Somebody…has uncovered the truth about her daughter,” stammered Zeus. “As soon as Hera finds out, it’ll be _beyond_ worse.”

* * *

**Pasadena, California – Helion Solar Corporate Headquarters**

“Good work, Helena. I just got a draft of the retraction letter from Mr. White. The lack of profanity in his email this time is a positive sign,” said an upbeat Apollo while in the guise of Alfonso Disole. “Do not concern yourself with this sudden turn of luck any longer. We have our privacy back. Let’s put it to good use. Begin coordinating with the shipping managers from all our facilities and start moving components to our test range in New Mexico. Keep the questions and the details to the bare minimum. I’ll take care of the rest.”

Apollo ended the call and smiled. It had been a productive day. A potential complication had been avoided, an impatient queen had been placated, and a plan that had been six months in the making was about to come together. The best part of all was that as far as Zeus was concerned, he was following his instructions to the letter. It put him in the perfect position. Everybody thought he was their pawn. They had no idea how wrong they were.

_‘There’s an old saying on Olympus. He who stands atop the mountain never sees the serpents slithering at his feet. My Uncle Ares might be content to stand on that mountain, but I prefer to be the serpent. It makes biting back against those who try to step on me so much easier.’_

Flushed with pride and confidence, Apollo put his feet up on his desk and retrieved another bottle of Olympian wine. This bottle in particular came from the stores of Dionysus himself. He had been saving it for after his plan had been realized, but he just couldn’t wait that long. His smug grin never fading, he poured himself a glass and started drinking.

_‘It won’t be much longer now. Once everything is assembled at the test range, I’ll have officially done my part. The rest is on Ares. If he succeeds, I’m in a position to strike while he makes himself a target. If he fails, I’m in a position to win favor with Zeus for being a loyal son. No matter the outcome, I still win. It’s so brilliant it almost bores me knowing how much I’ll benefit…almost.’_

Apollo had every reason to be confident. He might not have his father’s authority or his uncle’s tactical skills, but he made sure none could match his cunning. Everything that happened from here on out would be a spectacle and he would have a front row seat.

He soon finished his first glass of wine and poured himself another. He was about to take another sip when the mirror on his wall that he had used to talk to Persephone started glowing again. This time it was much brighter, radiating with far greater brilliance than before. It was so great that it actually started shaking, causing other lights within his office to flicker. In any other circumstances, this would be a bad sign. For Apollo, it was just the first of many spectacles.

“Ah…right on time,” he said smugly.

His glass still in hand, he made his way over to the mirror where a stream of images played out. The first showed Aleka, the Amazon he enlisted a while back to investigate an anomaly, as he described it. She had been working diligently for months, unable to explain the reason for Diana retaining her immortality. She ended up needing a slight nudge, which he generously provided from afar, to learn the truth. In doing so, a chain reaction was triggered.

“Such a loyal and passionate warrior – they’ll always be more useful than any pawn can hope to be,” said Apollo as he raised his glass.

He could only imagine the kind of upheaval this was causing on Olympus right now. He didn’t end up having to imagine for very long. As the scenes from the recent past played out before him, the events of the present soon caught up.

_“Apollo! Return to Olympus this instant!”_ bellowed the angry voice of Zeus. _“We have a new crisis – one that promises to make others much worse. Someone has uncovered the truth about Princess Diana’s lineage. Now Hera knows and she’s nowhere to be found!”_

Apollo could only pretend to be shocked. Thankfully, Zeus was in such a panic that his image didn’t appear on the mirror, which meant he couldn’t see his bemused expression. If he had, then he would’ve seen a god all too eager to see his father’s mistakes come back to haunt him at the worst possible time.

_“I need every god and goddess on Olympus to deal with this_ ,” Zeus continued. _“It’s only a matter of time before her jealous rage leads her to do something exceedingly foolish and damaging. We must stop her before she goes too far!”_

He didn’t even give Apollo a chance to respond, ensuring he didn’t have to pretend to be concerned. The mirror ended up cracking under the force of Zeus’ urgent voice, severing the connection in the process. If this was supposed to convey the extent of his father’s concern, it certainly got the point across. The fact that it happened at a time when Zeus was meeting with Hades and Poseidon probably didn’t help either.

Sighing to himself, he gulped down his glass of wine and put the bottle away. The only unfortunate part of this phase of the plan was that it left precious little time to enjoy fine wine, but all great plans came with sacrifices. Apollo made sure it would benefit him in the long run.

“And so the end of Zeus’ reign begins,” sighed Apollo. “Overdue it may be, this is sure to be a hell of a show.”

* * *

**Up next: Crown of Thorns**


	13. Crown of Thorns

**Strangers In Paradise**   
**Chapter 13: Crown of Thorns**

* * *

**Metropolis – Clark’s Apartment**

It used to be that when Diana visited the United States during her travels for the Red Cross, she stayed in a hotel or got a short-term lease on an apartment. After being with Clark for just a few months, she just stayed at his place. It made sense from a purely pragmatic perspective. They were able to spend more time together, she didn’t have to go through the hassle of staying in a hotel or apartment, and she had another place from which Wonder Woman could operate. It also gave her a chance to learn the intricacies of living with a man.

The learning curve had been steep to say the least. The mere act of sharing a bathroom had been subject to trial and error. She and Kal had their share of frustrations and missteps, but they were always quick to learn from them. Among the most important lessons she learned was that it was the difficulty of sharing her thoughts and feelings with a romantic partner.

It was something Diana took for granted on Themyscira. It was also something she noticed about people of the opposite sex in general. Sharing something with a woman was easier in many ways. It involved feelings and emotions that were more familiar. With men, there were more subtleties. There was this wall of innate differences between genders they just couldn’t overcome. Adding romantic feelings to the mix only made it more complicated. At the same time, it added more incentive to make those connections work in a way that strengthened those feelings.

_‘Hera, give me strength. No amount of training could prepare me for this. How do I convince Kal to take this step? Maybe a better question would be how do I convince him in a way that won’t seem absurd?’_

Diana had been obsessing over these questions since her chat with Lois. Shortly after finishing some tasks for the Red Cross, she bought herself a bottle of wine and returned to Clark’s apartment. He left her a voicemail saying he had to travel to some research lab for a story and would be home late. That was fine with her because it gave her time to think.

For the past hour, she had been sitting out on the balcony, drinking wine and watching the sun set over Metropolis. Diana accepted from the moment her exile began that she would have to confront her mother again at some point, but Lois convinced her that it didn’t have to devolve into another bitter argument. She was willing to give her mother a chance. Diana believed her mother would see the error of her ways if she opened her heart up to this world. The challenge was getting Clark to share that belief.

_‘He remembers as well as I do how hostile the Amazons were to him years ago. I’m sure he especially remembers how hostile my mother was. I know he would do anything for me, but I can’t do this unless he believes my mother will give him a chance. If we can get her to see beyond her innate mistrust of mankind, then surely others will follow. It feels like one of those things we have to do together, even if neither of us feels ready for it.’_

As she contemplated how she would even discuss this challenge, she felt a familiar breeze blow past her. Had she blinked at the wrong moment, she would have missed the distinct bluish blur that flew past her. It still didn’t stop her from smiling or even from finishing her glass of wine as she felt her lover’s warm gaze upon her.

“Hey. Sorry I’m late,” said Clark as he landed behind her.

“Are you ever going to stop apologizing for being late? Even after all the times I’ve said that being Clark Kent and Superman is a perfectly valid excuse?” said Diana.

“When you’re as fast as I am, you have no excuses – especially for my girlfriend.”

This man just kept finding new ways to make her love him. No matter how good a reason he had for not being on time, he never used it to justify making her wait. It said a lot about the kind of man he was. It also made bringing up this issue about her mother even more difficult.

However, Clark skipped the part where he made up for his tardiness this time. He carried himself with a sense of urgency and Diana recognized it as the kind of urgency that meant something had gone wrong for both Superman and Clark Kent.

“I know I promised you a romantic evening before you left for London and I’m still going to give you that evening. But something’s come up and it really can’t wait,” said Clark.

“Is it more urgent than a night of snuggling on the couch with a bottle of wine and Netflix?” asked Diana.

“Just barely, I’m afraid,” sighed Clark, making it clear which activity he preferred. “I just spent an entire afternoon dealing with a story for Perry. I was hoping this would be one of those stories that I could hammer out and earn some extra overtime, but that wasn’t the case.”

“When is it ever?” she sighed.

“I’ll spare you the details because my ears are still ringing when I told him he needed to print a retraction. That came after I spent an hour at the Fortress feeling like I just took a bath in liquid kryptonite.”

“I was going to say you looked a little pale, but I’ve learned not to assume. It must have been pretty bad.”

“It was,” he affirmed. “I don’t know for sure what I’m dealing with, but it might involve some kind of magic that can really hurt me. And since you know more about magic than me, I think you understand how bad it can get.”

And just like that, the conversation she hoped to have about her mother became a secondary concern. Since she began working with Superman as Wonder Woman, she learned that there were some conflicts they were just not equipped to handle on their own. Magic was one of them.

It was one of the only forces besides kryptonite capable of harming him. She remembered all too well the wounds he endured when he attempted to assist Dr. Fate against some creature that escaped from a swamp in Louisiana. After that encounter, he promised to defer to her expertise on all matters pertaining to magic. Having dealt with more than her share on Themyscira, she knew better than most how destructive it could be.

“I suppose the couch and the wine will be here for us later,” said Diana as she set her glass aside. “I did have something else I wanted to discuss with you, but it can wait.”

“Are you sure?” he asked. “You know I’ll always take the time to be Kal when you need him more than Superman.”

“I’m sure,” she told him, already taking on the demeanor of Wonder Woman. “Tell me more about this magic you experienced. If necessary, I can get Hessia on the phone and she can…”

Suddenly, a strange feeling came over Diana that froze her where she stood. It struck like the aftermath of a dozen battles. Her muscles grew weak, her heart leapt up into her throat, and a sick feeling emerged in the pit of her stomach. She quickly became dizzy and disoriented, so much so that she would’ve fallen to her knees had a worried Clark not caught her.

“Diana? Diana, what’s wrong?” he asked, now holding her protectively in his arms.

“I…I don’t know. Something strange just…came over me,” she stammered. “It’s like an alarm just went off in my head.”

“Have you ever felt it before?”

“No, I…don’t think so.”

She didn’t convince herself or Clark, for that matter. The feeling only got worse, even after he helped her back to her feet. She kept clutching her chest. It felt as though her heart was trying to leap out and yell at her that something was terribly wrong. An overwhelming sense of anxiety and dread soon came over her. Being a hardened warrior, it was a feeling she hadn’t felt often. However, she had definitely felt it before.

As Diana attempted to steady her heart, she recalled the nightmares she had been having lately. The sight of so much death, the pain of losing so much, and the despair utter defeat filled her with so many overwhelming emotions, but she had never felt them like this before. This felt far worse than a nightmare. Her heart and her spirit were crying out to her and she couldn’t figure out why. Then, it finally struck her.

“Aagh!” she exclaimed.

“Diana?” gasped Clark

To his shock and hers, her eyes shot open and started glowing bright yellow. It was as though somebody had shot a lightning bolt down her spine. Along with the discomfort, Diana was bombarded by visions that went beyond even her worst nightmares.

“Mother…Hera…my home,” she gasped.

First, she saw her home consumed by flames. Then, she saw her mother bound and imprisoned surrounded by monsters. She then saw all her sisters turn into hideous beasts before her eyes. Guiding all these horrors was a massive figure that stood over her island like a titan. She couldn’t make out who he was, but she recognized him as being the same figure from her nightmare. Everything she held dear now lay in ruin and from these ruins, she heard her mother’s solemn voice call out to her.

 _“Diana…help me,”_ she cried.

That voice was enough to jolt her from her overwhelmed state. In an instant, she shook off her lover’s grasp and stood ready to do battle with every monster between Olympus and the Underworld.

“I…I must return to Themyscira,” said Diana strongly. “Something is terribly wrong with my home!”

“You’re home? You mean the home you’ve been exiled from for over a year?” said Clark anxiously.

“It’s just like my nightmares, only worse,” she dreaded. “It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have ignored them. I can’t – I won’t let my mother and my sisters suffer because of me!”

Having made it clear that she would not be dissuaded, Diana donned her Wonder Woman attire by using the quick-transformation trick she learned from Hessia. Had anyone other than Kal been standing in front of her, she would have already taken to the air and flown towards Themyscira as speeds rivaling Hermes himself. His worried gaze and vivid recollection of her status with Themyscira led him to grasp her arm, if only to keep her from running off before he could give her the strength to come back to him safely.

“Diana wait!” he urged. “You know I’m not going to keep you from helping your family, but this feels like something you shouldn’t rush into by yourself.”

“I share that feeling and it’s probably right,” Diana conceded, “And I know you won’t like it, but I cannot accept your help. I must go alone.”

“You’re right. I don’t like it. Do you really expect me to just stay back and worry that I’ll lose you all over again?”

“You won’t lose me. I promise,” she told him.

“After what happened the last time you walked into this kind of conflict? Please don’t make me a promise like that, Diana. I’m willing to fight every one of my enemies with both hands tied behind my back and without my powers. I’m _not_ willing to feel that powerless when the woman I love is throwing herself into a battle that she might not come back from.”

He gave her that desperate look again. It was identical to the one he gave her that fateful day they parted ways the first time. Now it carried with it all the love and dedication he had given her over these past six months, making it impossible for her to turn away from.

This was another difficult lesson she had learned in being with a man. She could no longer think in terms of whether or not she could win a battle. She had to consider the feelings and concerns of another. Unlike her sisters on Themyscira, she and Clark did not always fight the same battles. It constantly tested their hearts and their capacity to trust that they would come back to one another. Not knowing the extent of the horrors that awaited her, she didn’t dare put this man through such heartache.

“I want to ask that you trust me, but I know that’s too much – even for Superman,” said Diana.

“More so for Clark Kent,” he added.

“But I still cannot let you come with me – not in this capacity anyways,” she continued. “I don’t know what I’ll encounter, but I’ll probably make it worse if I bring a man with me – especially a man who already has a history with Themyscira.”

“I don’t want to make it worse, but there must be _something_ I can do. Tell me and I’ll do it. _That’s_ a promise we can make.”

As much as she wanted to get to her sisters, Diana embraced her lover lightly and caressed his face with her hands. This was one of those moments where Kal-El, Clark Kent, and Superman became the same person. All the qualities that made him so noble and honorable merged into one amazing man that she loved so dearly. She needed that love and that honor to get her through this and she knew of only one way to do this.

“There is something you can do for me,” she told him.

“Name it,” said Clark without hesitation.

“Fly to London and meet with Hessia. Tell her that I’m going back to Themyscira. For all I know, she just felt what I felt. Then, ask her to retrieve the lockbox I have stored in safe.”

“Does this lockbox contain what I think it does?” he asked.

“That and more,” Diana affirmed. “Once you have it, you’ll know what to do. But what I need more than anything is your trust. Trust that I’ll do what I need to do so I can trust that you’ll do the right thing if and when the time comes. Is that another promise you can make me?”

“Of course I can,” he said.

She smiled at him and sealed that trust with a kiss. For a love like theirs, trust had to supersede reservation.

“I love you,” said Clark the moment their lips parted.

“I love you too, Kal,” said Diana.

“Be careful and be strong.”

“I will.”

They reluctantly broke their embrace and Diana took off at high speeds. This promised to test their love and their spirits in ways they had never experienced. The life she created in man’s world and the life she had on Themyscira were now in peril. She refused to let one life suffer for the sake of the other. If these terrible visions were any indication, then this could be a conflict where both would suffer should she fail.

_‘Hera…if I needed your guidance before, I most certainly need it now. Please – for the sake of my home and all those I love – give me the strength to see this through.’_

* * *

**Mount Olympus – Zeus’ Chamber**

“YOU LYING, CHEATING, PITIFUL EXCUSE FOR A HUSBAND! YOU CALL YOURSELF A GOD? YOU’RE NOTHING BUT A DIVINE WRETCH!”

The foundations of Olympus trembled in wake of Hippolyta’s jealous rage. It was even worse than Zeus had feared. His wife was on a warpath like no other. All the precautions he took and all the safeguards he installed had failed him. Once again, his infidelity had been uncovered and this time the circumstances were far more egregious.

“Lower your voice, Hera. You will _not_ speak to me with such disrespect!” demanded the King of Olympus.

“I’ll speak to you in whatever tone I damn well please!” Hera spat.

“This is the worst possible time for another one of your jealous outbursts. You cannot fathom the kind of destruction you’ll bring upon Olympus. The chaos you’ll create…”

“To hell with your chaos! And to hell with Olympus!” she exclaimed, unwilling to hear more lies.

In a jealous rage, attempted to strike her husband in a way he had forbidden for any god. He caught her arm before she could reach him. She tried to strike him again. He caught that one too. She still attempted to attack him, summoning every ounce of godly power she had. Zeus had to summon his as well to keep her at bay. Before long, an aura of energy surrounded them, creating a volatile clash that caused the entire chamber to shake.

Hera had already destroyed anything breakable within his quarters. As soon as he sensed the revelation about Princess Diana’s heritage, Zeus rushed to confront his angry wife. He ordered Hades and Poseidon to convene with the other gods in case their assistance was necessary. He intended to take care of this matter himself, but Hera made that exceedingly difficult. Looking at her gaze, he saw more than just jealous hatred. He also saw genuine sorrow.

His history of infidelity was no secret among gods or mortals, nor was the troubled circumstances of their marriage. Theirs was a marriage of propriety rather than love, a union meant to establish order on Olympus. Due to this lack of love, Zeus had indulged in numerous affairs with gods and mortals alike to exercise his immense lusts. Sometimes he did it for personal gain. Sometimes he did it for tactical gain. Sometimes he just did it because he wanted to. On many occasions, Hera had voiced her displeasure. But because of his authority as King of the Gods, she could do little about it.

This time was different. This time he crossed a line with his infidelity that even he could not evade. Even as Zeus held her back, Hera’s jealous rage continued.

“I don’t know what’s more pathetic – the fact that it took me this long to find out or the fact I actually trusted you to keep your promise this time!” said Hera.

“Do not assume facts without reason. Your jealousy blinds you to the whole truth,” said Zeus firmly.

“How many others have there been? How many other sordid affairs did you carry out after you made me that promise?”

“Cease your accusations woman!” he demanded. “Make no mistake. I took my promise seriously. For centuries, I reserved my lusts only for you.”

“More lies! More deceit!” spat Hera.

“It’s true. After the ordeal with Hercules, it was a promise I could no longer afford to break. I saw what my recklessness had wrought. I saw that I was putting Olympus and everything we had fought for at risk.”

“So you cared more about preserving Olympus than doing better by your wife? That’s just as bad as deceit!”

“This is bigger than our marriage. Without Olympus, we all perish. Even you must understand that,” said Zeus firmly.

“I only understand you jumping at the opportunity to bed another woman. And of all the harlots you could’ve seduced, you chose the one woman that embodied everything I stand for!”

For a moment, Hera’s outrage escalated to a point where even the Father of Olympus struggled to hold her back. There were now tears of anguish in her eyes. There were so many aspects of this affair that disgusted her, but Hippolyta being involved was definitely one of the worst.

Zeus understood better than most the connection Hera had to the Amazons. That connection ran especially deep with Hippolyta, the woman who prayed to her in her darkest hour. By delivering on that prayer, Hera held this woman up as an ideal of feminine strength. She gave her all the blessings of Olympus, creating with her the greatest army the gods could’ve hoped for. Establishing the Amazons had been among Hera’s proudest achievements. It went a long ways towards helping her cope with the jealousy and indignation she endured from her husband’s affairs. Now even this had been tainted.

“I don’t know why I even bother to ask, but why? Why her!” exclaimed Hera.

“For the very reason you just stated,” answered Zeus. “She embodies everything you stand for – a woman of strength, courage, and spirit.”

“And somehow that ignites you’re loins? You just _have_ to find a way to further my indignation!”

“It had nothing to do with hurting you or the Amazons for that matter. It had everything to do with preserving Olympus. Call it whatever you want. Insult me all you want. It doesn’t change the intent or purpose of my actions. In this instance, preserving Olympus meant breaking my promise to you, if only once. For that indignation, I apologize. But as ruler of Olympus, know that I will do whatever I must to protect our world and others.”

Hera’s outrage faded briefly. Her body continued to glow as she kept pushing back against Zeus. She was still fuming, scorning her husband with centuries worth of rage. A part of her was actually shocked that Zeus attempted to apologize for his indiscretion. In all his previous affairs, he never showed a trace of regret. This affair was different. She believed him when he said that. However, such a weak apology followed by another tired excuse did nothing to quell her jealous rage.

“Enough!” she yelled. “No more excuses. This time, you _will_ face justice for your actions!”

This time, Hera didn’t wait for him to make another excuse. The attacked with all her might, pushing back against him as hard as her godly form could. For the first time since the war with the titans, Zeus fell back. He was actually surprised by the sheer force she exacted. Any other god on Olympus would have succumbed, but Zeus was still the King of the Gods.

With a grunt of frustration and a sliver of regret, Zeus pushed back and this time he used more than just his strength. In a display of power fit for the Father of Olympus, his eyes erupted in a bluish glow and a burst of lightning-like energy shot up from under him. Bolts of lightning began swirling around him, creating a powerful field of energy that pushed back against Hera’s onslaught. She attempted to fight it, but she could not overcome it.

After a brief struggle, the swirling lightning pushed her back, allowing Zeus released his grip on her arms. The force of the push sent her crashing against a nearby. Hera then fell to one knee, now forced to look up at her powerful husband and the wrath he stood ready to impart.

“Silence, woman!” barked Zeus with the authority of both a king and a husband. “I will _not_ tolerate your hysterical ravings any further. Such chaos will _not_ reign under my watch, especially within my own domicile!”

“So this is how you’re going to address this? Flex your power and hide behind your decrees?” scoffed Hera.

“My word is still law here on Olympus and you _will_ respect it,” he said forcefully. “Regardless of whatever retribution you seek, you are still my wife. We will not and cannot undermine this order. Is that clear?”

Had Hera been any other woman, mortal or goddess, she would’ve trembled. In centuries past, she would’ve accepted this insufferable decree. She knew the kind of wrath Zeus was capable of inflicting. Her being his wife was the only thing sparing her from such wrath. No matter how much she hated him for his indiscretions, she knew she could not oppose or overpower him. He knew it too and expected her to find another outlet for her rage. But this time, she had no intention of abiding by this insufferable order.

As he loomed over her with his domineering presence, a series of deep tremors shook the room. These tremors soon escalated, causing the walls to crack and windows to break. Zeus remained vigilant, clenching his fists defensively as he looked around with his powerful gaze. He eventually picked up on the source of these tremors. When he realized where they were coming from, his anger turned to dread.

“Hera…what did you do?” he demanded.

“What’s the matter, dear husband? Has the weight of your loins finally become too much for you?” taunted Hera with a sneer.

Only so many forces could shake the very foundations of Olympus like this and Zeus made sure he controlled nearly all of them. However, one in particular remained only loosely controlled. It also happened to be a force powerful enough to shatter Olympus, the Underworld, and every realm in between. For the first time in centuries, the King of the Gods felt an overwhelming fear once reserved for mortals.

“You foolish bitch! Do you have any idea what you’ve done?” exclaimed Zeus.

“Make no mistake, dear husband. I know _exactly_ what I’m doing,” said Hera. “I might not be powerful enough to exact the justice I seek, but I _can_ see to it that you regret your many misdeeds. If that means undermining the very foundations of Olympus…so be it.”

* * *

**The Oblivion Dungeon – Earlier**

Ares didn’t smile often. In fact, nobody had ever smiled in the Oblivion Dungeon. Zeus and Hades worked together to make sure its prisoners had few reasons to feel joy, comfort, or anything that might give them hope. But no matter how ambitious their efforts, even their power had limits. That made this moment for Ares all the more satisfying.

“Dear mother, you must be utterly _incensed_ to do come to me like this,” said Ares in bemusement. “I don’t know if I should be proud or nervous.”

“Don’t patronize me, Ares. I’ve had quite enough of that,” said Hera, her every word dripping with hatred.

“That would be an understatement for the ages,” he said under his breath.

“You can also stop pretending to be so damn surprised,” she spat. “I know this is the highest level of foolishness. I also know my unrelenting anger is clouding my judgment. But I honestly don’t give a damn anymore. I cannot…I will not digest this latest indignation. Zeus’ arrogance has reigned supreme long enough. It’s time to end it!”

Ares’ smile widened. This had turned out better than he ever could’ve hoped. He knew at some point the secret of Diana’s heritage would be exposed. Apollo made sure of it and was probably enjoying this almost as much as him. Zeus might have made certain that none of the gods could ever reveal this information to Hera or anyone for that matter. But when an Amazon just happened to uncover it while searching for something unrelated, then it just became an incredibly inconvenient outrageous coincidence.

This was what led Hera into the Oblivion Dungeon. One moment he was floating in his cell within an endless abyss. The next he felt himself pulled towards a presence. It would’ve startled him had he not been anticipating it. He felt the sudden instability in the balance of forces between Olympus and the Underworld. It was now set to get much worse.

The God of War could already picture the look on his father’s face. He was probably so outraged and paranoid that he couldn’t possibly make the connections linking him and Apollo to this revelation. He could already see in Hera’s outrage that she couldn’t make those connections either. Zeus only cared about preventing further chaos and Hera only cared about making her husband suffer for his latest dalliance. It all promised to serve his plan perfectly.

“I know you’re always planning your next war, Ares. For all I know, this is something you’ve actually planned for on numerous occasions,” Hera went on.

“Let me guess – you don’t give a damn about that either,” surmised Ares.

“I wouldn’t have defied Zeus and broken the elaborate seals he placed on this prison if I did. As I see it, you’re the only other god on Olympus who has as much reason to despise Zeus as I do.”

“Which is saying quite a lot, mind you,” he added.

“You’re also the only god capable of waging the kind of war that will make Zeus finally suffer for his crimes. In centuries past, I could only unleash my wrath on whoever or whatever mortal scum Zeus managed to seduce. I’ve already made exacted my wrath on Hippolyta. But to make only her pay for the sins of my husband – I cannot accept that this time.”

“I don’t blame you. Zeus really went for the jugular this time, seducing the woman who you made your greatest champion.”

“Don’t pretend to have sympathy. You’re incredibly bad at it,” scoffed Hera. “Don’t pretend you didn’t know about it either. I’m sure Zeus decreed that you and everyone on Olympus was not to so much as whisper it. I would feel outrage for my own children keeping such a secret, but I intend to focus all my rage on those most deserving!”

This was exactly what Ares had hoped to hear. Hera might have been prone to emotional outbursts, but she was no fool. She had to have known that other gods had been keeping this from her. She also had to know on some levels that one of them probably had a hand in exposing this secret. But she just didn’t care. She was so upset and outraged that she couldn’t give more than a passing thought to such possibilities. That promised to be quite useful.

“You and I both know that we can’t possibly wage war against Zeus on our own. He’s still too powerful and too many other gods respect his authority,” Hera continued.

“That in and of itself is quite _unsettling_ ,” commented Ares.

“We also both know that there has been unusual activity within Tartarus lately. I’ve spent these past few months looking into it, if only to give myself something better to do than loath my husband. In that time, I’ve figured out – and you might already know this – that someone has been tampering with the Tomb of Erebus.”

“You don’t say?” said Ares, pretending to be surprised. “That would be even more unsettling.”

“Since I’m too enraged to speculate, I’ll just assume you know a thing or two about it. I’ll also assume that Persephone knows more than she claimed when I asked her about it.”

“She would certainly have incentive to frustrate the gods.”

“As do you,” Hera pointed out, “Which brings me to why I came here first instead of seeking my husband’s overdue punishment.”

This marked the point of no return for the Queen of the Gods. Once she crossed this line, there would be no going back. None of the gods, including Zeus, would be able to undo the damage inflicted by the actions she sought. A part of Hera urged her to pull back, but she remained too upset. She had accepted her place in Zeus’ order for too long. It had to change, no matter what the cost.

Ares listened intently, gazing at her from behind his cell. He could only expect so much strategy from a woman so scorned, but her methods didn’t matter. She just had to put him in a position to finally launch his war.

“If Zeus loves his precious order so much, I want to see that he burns with it. And I’m willing to put you – my son, who has also suffered greatly under this order – in a position to make that happen,” Hera continued. “I will free you from your cell and lead you out of this accursed prison. After that, I expect you to do as your title suggests. Start a war. Wage it to your heart’s content. Rally an army, release Erebus, and raze the Underworld for all I care. Do whatever you wish to destroy Zeus.”

“How kind and generous of you, mother. I’d hug you if I didn’t suspect the mere scent of a man would further enrage you,” said Ares.

“You’d also be mad if you thought I would just let you out and expect you to do as you please,” scoffed Hera. “My assistance comes with one non-negotiable condition.”

“Name it. I’m not exactly in a position or mood to negotiate anyhow.”

Hera paused for a moment as she glared cautiously at her son. Despite her rage towards Zeus, she would not allow herself to blindly trust Ares. She understood better than most that the God of War did not repay favors, even for his mother. Once unleashed, he would follow his own plan and would crush her the moment she became a hindrance. She needed to make sure she had a contingency. That way she could put herself in a position to enjoy her husband’s downfall.

“The Amazons – they are to have no part in this war,” she said.

“Keep the Amazons from participating in a war?” said Ares, pretending to be surprised once more. “That might be difficult to abide, even if I agreed.”

“It’s _non-negotiable_ , Ares,” Hera reiterated forcefully. “The moment we leave this realm, we will part ways and it’s entirely possible our paths will never cross again. You’ll go wage your war. And after I have a parting chat with my husband, I’ll make my way to Themyscira. With Hippolyta imprisoned, I am now their queen. I intend to take them far from Olympus and from whatever conflict this will bring.”

“For what I have planned, you’ll have to go pretty far.”

“There are a number of realms in which we can seek shelter. I’m sure we can find one that suits us. I just need to see to it that my husband finally faces justice for his many crimes. While I cannot trust you to exact my preferred brand of justice, I do trust that you’ll make Zeus suffer. That is the deal you have before you. Take it now or remain here while Olympus crumbles.”

It wasn’t quite the deal Ares expected. Ideally, Hera would be so upset that she would just bust open his cell, free him, and let him do as he pleased to carry out the rest of his plan. That would be expecting too much from his embittered mother

This condition of hers was not surprising. As much as she despised Hippolyta, she still cherished her Amazons as the feminine ideal. They still prayed to her and would continue to pray to her, especially in the absence of their fallen queen. This still meant that he would have to tweak certain portions of his battle plan, but he expected to do so anyways. It made his decision that much easier.

“Very well. I’d say your offer is more than reasonable,” said Ares with a grin. “It’s a far better deal than I’d get from a lesser god.”

“And you would be wise to not make light of it,” added Hera in a menacing tone. “If, at any point, you decide it’s not reasonable enough…I’ll see to it that you suffer just as much as your father.”

“No need to make threats, mother. I might be the God of War, but even I know when to pick my battles.”

Hera continued to scorn Ares, studying and scrutinizing him with her simmering rage. That grin on his face didn’t sit well for a second. She could already tell he had a battle plan in mind. It might even be a plan that would put her and the Amazons in the crossfire. She was still willing to risk it. At this point, anything that ensured her husband’s suffering was worth it.

“Then let’s get this over with. The reign of Zeus cannot end fast enough,” said Hera.

Having made certain that she got her point across, Hera retrieved a special artifact she had stolen from Hephaestus’ chamber. He called it the Oblivion Key, a simple device that could unlock the cells. Only a select few even knew of it and Hera always made sure she was among those select few. By simply holding it up over the cell, the barrier that had imprisoned the God of War disappeared.

“Ah! It feels good to be free again,” said Ares as he stretched his limbs feely for the first time in months.

“Enjoy it on your own time,” said Hera. “Follow me. There’s a back entrance that’ll take you to a juncture between the Underworld and Olympus. This way you can meet up with any _associates_ you’ve been conspiring with.”

“I want to be offended, but you know me too well, mother,” teased Ares.

“Shut up. I don’t want to know any details. I don’t want to know any names. I just want all of Olympus trembling under a new wave of chaos.”

“That, my dear mother, I can most certainly promise you.”

Neither of them said another word as Hera led him out of this vast abyss. The beginning of the end for Zeus and his order had officially begun. Hera had her plan in place. Ares had his. Regardless of how little they trusted one another, they promised to aid one another in changing Olympus forever.

* * *

**Metropolis – Lois and Jonathan’s Condo**

_“Lois? I hope your there. We need to talk. It’s urgent!”_

This was the message Clark Kent sent Lois Lane via text message a few minutes ago. He sent another one seconds later saying he was on his way. It was one of only a handful of times when he contacted her late in the evening outside the office. And in every one of those cases, it had been pretty serious.

_‘He’s never one to overreact. Hell, he’s got a poker face that would give a hardened mobster a run for his money. What could possibly get him this worked up? Could it have something to do with what Diana and I talked about earlier?’_

Lois had been pondering the possibilities since she got the message. She had been cooking a nice romantic meal for her and Jonathan when she got the message. It was supposed to be their first in nearly a month. She intended to take full advantage of it when he got home, which would be in about a half-hour. But this sounded like something she couldn’t put off.

As soon as Clark arrived at her building, she buzzed him in and waited by the door. A few minutes later, she heard a frantic knock on her door and she opened to see a Clark in a dark jacket with a packed suitcase in hand. He looked more than a little tense, a clear sign that this had to do with Diana.

“Sorry to drop in you like this, Lois. Jonathan’s not here, is he? I should probably apologize to him too while I’m at it,” said Clark as he entered, speaking much faster than usual.

“He’s not here, but he will be soon,” she answered. “He wouldn’t accept it anyways because he would be just as worried as I am right now about you showing up out of the blue like this.”

“And I would explain myself if I had time, but I’ve got a flight to catch. Something’s come up with Diana and I need to help her. Unfortunately, helping her means flying out to London and meeting with a relative of hers. I know that raises way more questions than it answers, but I need you to trust me when I say…”

Lois held her hand up to silence him before went any further. He was talking with such urgency that he began stammering in ways she had never heard from him. For that reason, she decided to make it easier on both of them.

“Stop right there, Clark. I know what you’re about to do,” she told him. “You’re going to say as much as you can without revealing more than you need. Then, you’re going to apologize again for not being able to say enough. So let’s just skip that part and I’ll just take your word for it.”

“Really? My word is enough?” said a pleasantly surprised Clark.

“Are you kidding? For all the times you’ve trusted me and all the favors I owe you, this doesn’t even cover the interest. Plus, it involves Diana. You don’t need to explain yourself when it involves your girlfriend.”

Clark shifted awkwardly. He came here expecting to endure Lois’ usual barrage of concern and suspicion. One of the reasons he didn’t liked asking Lois for favors was because he didn’t like lying to her more than he already did with him being Superman. And whenever he did make a request, he had to frame it in an ambiguous way that often roused her suspicions. Lois was a very smart woman and usually never hesitated to ask questions that were difficult to answer. This time, she didn’t give him the usual scrutiny. Just mentioning Diana’s name was enough.

“I uh…appreciate that, Lois. Thank you for being so understanding,” he said with an awkward grin.

“Don’t let it go to your head, Smallville,” she replied with folded arms. “Now what do you need that’s going to make you calm the hell down?”

Clark shifted again to regain his composure. He hadn’t forgotten why he came here. He also hadn’t forgotten that time was still a factor.

“It’s nothing too reasonable…I hope,” Clark continued. “While I’m gone, I need you to finish tying up the loose ends with the Helion Solar story.”

“You mean the same story that had Perry banging his head against the wall this afternoon?” said Lois.

“The very same, I’m afraid. I know it’s a tall order, dealing with Perry when he’s in his _retraction_ mood. Most of the work is already done, but I need you to make sure it goes through without making him any angrier.”

“You’re right. That is a tall order, but not one you couldn’t have requested with a phone call or an email. There’s something else, isn’t there?”

Once again, Lois’ reporter instincts proved sharp. She knew him and Perry well enough to understand when a task wasn’t as simple as it sounded. This was the part of the request that Clark wasn’t sure about, but couldn’t think of anyone else better to carry it out.

“There is and it has nothing to do with Perry,” he went on.

“I want to say I’m relieved, but I have a feeling it’ll be short-lived,” said Lois.

“This story – I know I told Perry it needed a retraction and it does. Trust me on that. But while I was at Helion Solar, I picked up on something…strange. I can’t quite describe it without putting us both in a difficult position, but it’s something that someone needs to look into while I’m gone.”

“By someone you mean me,” she surmised.

“And by you, I also mean someone willing to look beyond the story,” he continued. “This is a company that does and says all the right things to avert suspicion. They’re like the anti-Lexcorp. They don’t pretend to be anything other than what they are.”

“Sounds like they’ve got something to hide and are actually good at it.”

“They do. It involves research on this exotic form of energy that they claim is helping them build better solar panels, but I don’t believe that. Based on what I saw, this strikes me as the kind of energy that will lead to more Metallos or Living Parasites. It would make sense of their efforts to remain so anonymous. We might not be able to make it into a story right now, but this has all the makings of a major threat and it would do everyone a favor if we got ahead of the curve.”

It might not have been a Pulitzer-level story, but it definitely peaked Lois’ interest. She was no stranger to big companies tampering with exotic energy. The last time somebody made a breakthrough in that area, Lex Luthor uncovered a way to channel kryptonite into a deadly Superman-killing force. She didn’t know if these Helion Solar people were quite as bad, but their secrecy raised way too many red flags.

Clark already knew from the look on her face that Lois intended to dig into this with the unrelenting drive that made her such a great reporter. Right now, helping Diana was his top priority. He had no idea if this issue with Helion Solar was related. He had no reason to suspect as such. If there were indeed connections to anyone or anything that could be a threat, Lois Lane would find out.

“So essentially, you’re asking me to leave my press pass at home and investigate this shady – and possibly dangerous – company as if it were the second coming of Lexcorp. Is that right?” asked Lois.

“I’m not sure I would frame it like that, but the fact you say that with a smile on your face makes me reluctant to rephrase it,” said Clark.

“Like I said, I owe you way too many favors. Plus, you know how much I enjoy exposing dirty secrets of corrupt institutions. I bet I can even get Jonathan to make a date of it.”

“Thank you, Lois. Really…this means a lot to me.”

“Quit waste time thanking me. Stop worrying about Helion, exotic energy, and retractions already and focus on helping your girlfriend. She lets you see her naked. She has priority.”

Lois rushed Clark out the door, practically shoving him at one point. She didn’t give the impression she was joking when she said that Diana should be his top priority. Lois had become pretty supportive of his relationship with Diana since it began, but never this supportive. He was almost tempted to ask what triggered this sudden shift, but chose not to. Lois was right. Diana was his top priority.

Assured that this story with Helion Solar was in good hands, Clark left Lois’ condo and shut out any further distractions. In a blur, he changed into his Superman costume and flew out into the cloudy skies with every intention of doing whatever he had to do to aid his lover. He didn’t know what this could entail, but if it involved going up against her hostile family and the gods they worshipped, so be it.

* * *

**Northern Greece – Excavation Site**

“Mr. Luthor! Mr. Luthor! Come quick! We’ve found something!” exclaimed a lone worker in a heavily accented voice.

It was the frantic call that Lex Luthor had been waiting months to hear. After weeks of living in tents, staying in makeshift shacks, and working out of under-equipped labs, he should’ve been elated. However, this announcement did little to excite him. If anything, he was annoyed that it hadn’t happened sooner.

It was almost midnight at the excavation site. After months of digging, they had carved a pretty deep pit within this fairly rough terrain. Maintaining the desired progress required more resources than Lex had calculated. He also had to push these migrant workers much harder, extending their shifts and conducting digging operations around the clock. It took a toll on them, but they did as they were told. Over the course of these past six months, they learned on multiple occasions that it was in their best interests not to disappoint him.

Lex finally arose from his work bench, the Dagger of Deimos still at his side as he greeted the breathless worker. He had been working on a series of mathematical and physics calculations in his notebook for the past several hours. He refused to share this man’s excitement until he confirmed that this was exactly what he had been searching for.

“Catch your breath later. Tell me what you found so I can decide how satisfied I should be,” demanded Luthor in an authoritative tone.

“It…it was exactly where you said it would be,” said the man, having to bend over while breathing heavily. “The coordinates you gave us – the same coordinates that everyone else said meant nothing – it was hiding something _big_.”

“No need to remind me how right I was. The coordinates were never in doubt,” scoffed Luthor. “Tell me how big it is and confirm how right about the rest of my calculations.”

“That…that’s just it. We…have no idea. None of us has ever seen anything like it. I wish I could describe it, but…”

“Don’t bother. I’ll see for myself.”

He callously shoved the worker aside and snapped his fingers to summon Mercy, who had been standing just outside his tent like a good body guard should. She followed him down into the excavation pit, which was now illuminated by a series of industrial light posts that surrounded the perimeter of the site. The discovery triggered a fairly significant reaction amongst the workers. Many were running around, trying to get a good look into the pit to see what they discovered. A few private guards kept them from crowding the area. Others got shoved aside to make way for Lex Luthor.

They were understandably curious to see what they had been working so hard to uncover. Lex could hear them having all sorts of heated discussions in a variety of languages. Some appeared worried. Some were even praying as though they had uncovered some holy artifact. Luthor sneered at their reactions. Their feeble minds couldn’t even imagine the power they had just uncovered. They were even less likely to appreciate it.

“Everybody stand back!” ordered Lex as soon as he reached the bottom of the pit. “Nobody else touches the artifact but me.”

“You heard him. Get back or lose a limb,” said Mercy, shoving aside a few more workers trying to get in closer.

Luthor made his way past the crowd and commotion until he reached his destination, which happened to be a large outcropping of solid granite protruding from the rock layers. Within this rock was what appeared to be the top of a large black casket that stood nearly ten feet tall and several feet wide. The casket was clearly manmade because it was composed of a smooth, polished dark metal. It also had a series of etchings on the top that none of the workers were qualified to read.

From a purely scientific perspective, it was a geological impossibility. Granite was not the kind of rock capable of containing manmade artifacts. For something to be buried within it broke a long list of what modern science understood about the natural world. As always, however, modern science was lagging behind the genius that was Lex Luthor.

Upon approaching the casket, he ran his hands over the metal while Mercy guarded him. Everyone in the pit got a lot quieter as they watched Lex read over the engravings. Months of painstaking research and calculations had finally paid off.

“Beware, mighty warriors, who seek the weapons of the gods. For even mighty Zeus himself cannot always wield the horrors they create,” Lex read, translating the ancient Greek perfectly. “Tell me, Mercy, are you familiar with the prevailing themes of Greco-Roman Mythology?”

“I dropped out of school the day it ceased being useful to me, Mr. Luthor. So no, I’m not,” answered Mercy Graves flatly.

“You’re not missing much. All you need to know is that every tale acted as a warning to us lowly mortals. We were never to seek the power of the gods or wield their tools. To do so would only lead to hubris, that most damnable sin that seeks to remind humanity that they are incapable of handling such power. It’s actually pretty pathetic. It’s intended to teach everyone that they’re better off being weak, subservient, and feeble. By championing these pathetic traits, they condition people to remain weak. That way the gods can never be challenged.”

Lex wiped away some of the rocky dust, exposing more lines of the engravings. Some were illegible or too difficult to read, but he didn’t need to read them to know what they entailed.

“Like everything else from arrogant gods who neither earn nor deserve their power, they overlook one crucial detail,” he continued. “The gods themselves are just as inept. They create tools, weapons, and monsters they cannot wield or control. They impose rules and standards they do not abide by themselves. These gods and every being like them are embodiments of true hypocrisy. They try to convince us that we are not worthy, but only succeed in revealing themselves to be unworthy.”

After blowing away more dust and shining a light on the casket, Lex made out another coherent line. This time it actually offered something other than the mindless ranting of pious men or arrogant gods.

“In the hottest fires of war, the heavenly Annihilator remains unburned. Let no soul provoke its wrath, for even the gods dare not unleash it,” read Luthor. “I remember the first time Felix Foust described this ‘Annihilator Armor’ as he called it. He claimed it was real, just as the gods of old were real. He said that when the war against the titans appeared to turn against the gods, Ares ordered Hephaestus to craft a weapon so powerful that even he couldn’t stop it. According to his research, Zeus ordered its destruction after the war. However, Ares defied his father – as he so often did – and hid it within the realm of mortals.”

“Is that what this is? Is this what he wanted you to find for him?” asked Mercy.

“Yes and no,” answered Lex. “It is what it claims to be. Foust went so far as to identify a possible location, tracking folk tales about some cult of old warriors burying it in a volcano on Ares’ behalf. But I don’t think Ares _wanted_ me to find this for him. He only expected me to play into his hands if his first plan failed. It would actually be brilliant if I were some gullible pawn from the mythos of old. Instead, I intend to give him a much-needed lesson in hubris.”

Lex Luthor finally allowed himself to smile. This was the part where Felix Foust offered his most dire warnings and Luthor had no intention of heeding them. The man still foolishly believed, as did many others, that no man was equipped to tap into the powers of gods. He was going to prove him and every phony hero of myth wrong. What would make it all the more ingenious was that in order to do this, he had to give the impression that he was just as foolish.

Having already worked out the details in his mind, he turned towards the lead foreman of the pit who had been standing just in front of Mercy trying to get a look. He seemed just as concerned and curious as everybody else, which might end up working to his benefit.

“How long will it take to completely remove the casket from the rock?” asked Luthor.

“Um…since it’s in solid granite, I imagine it would take a couple of days at the least,” the foreman answered.

“You have only one. And as soon as it’s done, you have even less time to get it out of this pit and onto the back of a truck. Now before you begin pointing out the logistical challenges, let me remind you…”

Before Luthor could finish his threat, a strange reaction from the Dagger of Deimos silenced him and shocked everyone else within view. This mysterious artifact, which he had been holding firmly in his hand, began glowing with an ominous purple energy. A fresh commotion came over the crowd as they pointed at the dagger and began a new round of prayers. When Lex looked down at it and scrutinized the glowing weapon, his brilliant mind began making connections.

Another smile soon formed on his face. He could actually feel the energy from the dagger coursing through his body. He imagined that this was what a low battery felt like while being supercharged. His meticulous calculations and painstaking research over the past six months helped him piece together what this reaction meant. It wouldn’t change the core of his plan, but it did require that he adjust his time-table.

“What’s happening, Lex? Are you okay?” asked Mercy nervously.

“I’m fine, Mercy…better than fine,” he said. “It would seem our associate has finally decided to be useful again. He’s even ahead of schedule. That’ll make a few things easier.”

To demonstrate his point, Lex turned towards the casket again, which was still mostly covered in granite. He then lightly tapped the tip of the dagger against the exposed metal, triggering another ominous reaction that caused some of the workers to turn around and run.

The second the dagger touched the exotic metal, the ominous purplish energy spread right into the casket until it was fully engulfed. The rock surrounding it began to shake, causing major cracks in the rocky shell surrounding the large relic. It did in seconds what would’ve taken days for these workers to do, chipping away the rocky shell and freeing the casket from its confines. This process was so efficient it cause a tremor that rocked the entire excavation site. Some of the lighting equipment even shorted out and curiosity among the workers turned to full-blown dread. But Lex Luthor remained unafraid as he watched the spectacle before him unfold.

“Scratch that request to dig out the artifact. I don’t believe such services will be necessary,” said Lex to the foreman, who had already run away.

Once all the granite broke off from the casket, the engravings etched on the casket began glowing with the same purplish energy. In addition, the removal of the rocky shell revealed a slot in the mid-section of the casket that had been previously covered. Lex then felt the dagger in his hand rise up on its own, guiding itself towards the slot. It was like the opposing poles of a magnet being attracted to one another. In following it, he felt the dagger enter the slot and turn like a key to unlock the contents within.

“He made the Dagger of Deimos the key to opening it,” Lex surmised. “Clever…using one forbidden weapon to unlock the other. It’s either a double failsafe or laughably redundant.”

Everyone except him took another step back as the large casket opened itself, releasing a gust of dusty air that hadn’t been disturbed for millennia. Once the dust cleared, it revealed a forbidden wonder that no mortal eyes had ever seen.

“The Annihilator Armor,” said Lex distantly. “Foust, your drawings didn’t do it justice.”

It was truly a marvel to behold. The armor itself had a humanoid shape, consistent with that of an ordinary man. It stood nearly ten feet tall, bearing a hulking frame that no ordinary man could ever hope to fit. It also consisted of the same exotic black metal as the casket, only much more polished. There weren’t any engravings or ominous warnings, bearing only the emblem of the God of War on the breastplate. But it’s most distinguishing feature of all was the bowl-shaped head. There was no mask or helmet of any kind. It looked more like a window. As Luthor looked at his reflection, he prepared himself for the next step.

“Mercy, I have a favor to ask of you. I’m fairly certain that I won’t be in a position to do it myself,” he said, not taking his eyes off the armor.

“I have a _long_ list of concerns I’d like to voice first, but something tells me they’re trivial at this point,” said Mercy, hiding her astonishment.

“And you’d be right,” said Lex in a humored tone. “I’m about to take a long nap so I’ll need you to take me and this dagger back to the secondary lab I set up in Zurich. There’s a set of instructions waiting for you on my laptop. Type in, ‘DivinePlan3289,’ to log in. It’ll tell you who you need to call, what you need to do, and how you’ll go about getting it done. Once complete – well, I’d rather not spoil it!”

Mercy nodded obediently, not asking any questions or daring to interfere in any way. She just kept watching along with the workers bold enough to remain. At this point, the tremors had intensified, causing more cracks to form in the surrounding rocks. The glowing in the dagger and the Annihilator armor got brighter. Eventually, it completely consumed Lex. His body tensed, his every muscle throbbing with the new power. Then, in one swift motion, he pulled the Dagger of Deimos out of the slot in the armor to complete the process.

In doing so, a blinding burst of light erupted from the armor, momentarily blinding everyone that had been watching. The moment it faded, Lex Luthor’s eyes rolled into the back of his head and his body went completely limp. At first, Mercy and some of the workers showed concern. Then they noticed that the bowl-shaped head of the Annihilator armor was now glowing a darker shade of purple. This ominous glow eventually took the shape of a head and face, specifically Lex Luthor’s.

Once fully formed, his ominous grin remained and the limbs of the armor came to life. Now being guided by the whim of Lex Luthor, it took its first step. Its mere movement caused more tremors, a telling sign of the raw power dwelling within. As he got a feel for his powerful new form, Lex flexed the arms of the armor and clenched his fists. He now possessed in him a power that even the gods of old had feared.

“So _this_ is what it feels like to be as strong as a god,” said Lex’s voice from within the armor. “I must admit, it’s not quite as invigorating as I had hoped. But I suppose it’ll do.”

For a moment, he just took in the shocked and horrified glances of the workers and guards. It would’ve been so amusing if it weren’t so warranted. He also looked down at his now unconscious body and back towards Mercy, who remained as bold as he expected her to be. It was a bit odd, seeing his own body from afar. It only revealed how unfit it was to house a mind like his.

“I can feel the energy surging through me – like a conduit tapping into a new source,” said Lex. “It’s like my body was holding my mind back all these years, but not anymore!”

After settling into the armor, the glowing energy surrounding it shifted. It began pulsating like a beacon, as if to reacting to a signal. From within the armor, Lex could feel it too. It was like another much larger magnetic force drawing him to another specific location. He already had a pretty good idea of where it would be. This was the part of the plan where he willingly walked in to the trap Ares had set for him. It was also the part where he got to just enjoy the ride until his moment of triumph approached.

“Ah, right on cue,” he said. “You have your instructions, Mercy. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve a date with an island of beautiful woman just waiting to be subdued.”

Following the whims of this powerful energy, Lex and the Annihilator armor took off like a rocket into the sky. It soared through the air on a trail of unseen energy. It gave Lex Luthor his first taste for what it was like to be Superman. He tried not to enjoy it too much though. Before this ordeal was over, Superman and every phony god like him would know what it felt like to be painfully mortal.

* * *

**Themyscira – Temple of Hera**

The Amazons were in the midst of their darkest hour since their defeat and humiliation at the hands of Hercules. Mere hours ago, it was revealed that their beloved queen Hippolyta had been keeping a secret from her sisters. As a result of that secret, she had been taken by Hera herself and whisked away to parts unknown where she would undoubtable face punishment for her crime. It didn’t matter that she was queen. She deceived both her sisters and the gods. For such an egregious offense, she could neither escape punishment nor continue as queen.

It sent waves of shock throughout the island. Every Amazon that had served loyally under Hippolyta for centuries cried in disbelief. The idea that their queen had willingly lain with a man, even if that man happened to be a god, was heart-breaking. The idea that they were now without a queen was almost as devastating. But being the proud warriors they were, the Amazons refused to succumb to despair. So Aleka and a few other high-ranking Amazons ordered that everyone gather at the temple of Hera.

“Hear us, oh Hera…keeper of womanhood and mother to all Amazons! We – your loyal warriors – pray to you with all our hearts,” proclaimed Aleka as she and thousands of Amazons knelt piously at the base of the temple.

“With all our hearts, hear us!” repeated every Amazon in perfect harmony.

“Our queen has failed us. Our spirits have been scarred. But we will _not_ despair. We will keep fighting for you,” Aleka continued.

“We will keep fighting!” they all repeated with the same determined unity.

“We are warriors.”

“We are warriors!” they all said again.

With every prayer she invoked, Aleka still hid the sorrow of what had led them to this point. As she prayed and chanted, centuries of battles played out before her eyes. All the blood, sweat, and tears they shed together came rushing back to her. From the moment she joined Hippolyta’s band of female warriors as a teenager to the horrors she suffered under Hercules, she prided herself on fighting harder for her queen. Yet in the end, she had been the one who ended her beloved queen’s reign.

It was a cruel twist of fate, her being the one who exposed Hippolyta’s secret. She was supposed to be the most dedicated Amazon on Themyscira. Her loyalty to her queen had no equals. It left her with a gaping wound on her heart and her spirit, even as she led these prayers. Were she not a hardened warrior, she would have long since broken down into tears.

But there was no time for sorrow. The Amazons may be heartbroken and lost, but they were still warriors. There were still battles to be fought and glory to be had. With broken hearts and no leader, only the gods could guide them now.

“Hear our prayers, oh Hera, and guide us through this toil that has befallen us,” Aleka continued. “Come to us with your wisdom and love. Show us the way and we will fight for you.”

“We will fight for you!” her fellow Amazons chanted.

“Embrace us as we embrace you. Guide us to glory with your grace. Let _nothing_ destroy our sisterhood. Let us fight for you until our dying breath!”

“Until our dying breath!”

Their collective voices echoed with a harmony and unity that could only be forged from centuries of sisterhood. It was a voice the gods usually responded to, but it seemed this revelation had shaken them as well. They could feel a tension within the air, like a cold gust coming straight from the peak of Olympus. But they never wavered in their heart-felt prayers. They kept chanting and praying until finally, a booming voice echoed from within the temple.

“Rise, my loyal maidens,” said the authoritative voice of Hera.

Every Amazon did as she said instantly. Many had to hide their sense of relief upon seeing their patron goddess emerge from the temple, wearing her traditional peacock gown. Some began to wonder if she would even come after this latest revelation, yet here she was. The Queen of the Gods looked as graceful as ever, but had the distinct poise of a woman deeply scorned. They didn’t dare entertain thoughts of how she reacted to the revelation that her husband has fathered another child behind her back. As far as they were concerned, none of that mattered at this point.

“Goddess Hera,” said Aleka, bowing loyally as she approached. “Thank you for gracing us with your presence. I…I am not qualified to speak for all my sisters, so forgive me if…”

“Enough, Aleka,” said Hera, silencing her and any other Amazon that might have spoken. “There’s no need for formality. We’ve neither the time nor the patience. I’ve heard your prayers loud and clear. I’d have answered them sooner, but a new conflict has consumed Olympus – one that has every god and goddess drawing battle lines.”

“Tell us which line to defend, my Goddess. We will fight for you, with or without our queen,” said Aleka strongly.

“Yes…your queen,” said Hera, not hiding the hatred that her name evoked. “From here on out, she is not to be mentioned. You’re all to expunge Hippolyta and her bastard offspring from your memories. All records and mention of her are to be destroyed or redacted. That is my first decree to you, my Amazons.”

None dared voice any opposition. Despite years of love and loyalty for Hippolyta, they now had to bury it within the depths of their spirit. It would be harder for some more than others. Aleka felt her lips quiver at the thought of erasing her former queen from her heart. It was one act that overwhelmed even her strength. The thought shouldn’t have pained her in wake of recent revelations, but it did and she dared not reveal it.

Hera could already sense her decree triggering mixed emotions amongst the Amazons. That didn’t matter. They were too loyal to let it get the better of them. They might be the only ones between Olympus and the Underworld that still had a shred of loyalty. That made them her only allies in this new order she was set to forge.

“From this day forward, I am your queen. That is my second decree,” proclaimed Hera. “The Amazons have served loyally and faithfully for centuries – most of them anyways. You’ve proven yourselves to be great warriors, worthy of the blessings of Olympus. However, Olympus has not returned the favor. I foolishly believed that after the atrocities of Hercules that the order of Zeus would preserve the justice and dignity that we champion. I come to you today with the solemn news that I was wrong.”

No god or goddess ever liked admitting that they were wrong. Even though nobody on Olympus was surprised by Zeus’ infidelity, none concede their error. Hera now had every intention of sparing herself from such indignity for the foreseeable future. She had endured enough and so had her Amazons.

“While I take no pleasure in saying this, let it be known now and until our dying breath…Olympus has failed us. There is no longer any honor in defending it. As we speak, the lies and deceit propagated by Zeus are destroying all that the gods have built. You don’t need to know the details. You don’t even need to know forces behind it. You need only know that Olympus will fall. I barely escaped and now I intend to help you, my faithful maidens, escape this destruction.”

“Forgive my interruption, My Goddess…but what of the other gods?” asked Aleka anxiously.

“If they’re worthy of worship, they’ll escape like I did. If they cannot, then they deserve oblivion,” said Hera. “Do not bother praying to them. Focus your spirits on the task at hand.”

Few had ever heard their patron goddess speak so coldly about her fellow gods. In her bitterness, she was really willing to let them fall along with Zeus. It was hardly representative of the compassion they championed, but they did not dare question their queen and their goddess.

“For my first act as queen, I give the following orders – every Amazon is to gather their belongings and abandon their dwellings,” said Hera. “All high ranking generals and priestesses are to clean out the archives and libraries of only the most precious artifacts. Everything else is to be left behind.”

“Left behind? Are we abandoning our home?” asked Aleka, her voice finally cracking under the strain.

“Do not weep for this island. Themyscira will fall like the rest of Olympus and I’ve no intention of being here when that happens. Together, we will seek a new home – a new domain to call our own. We will finally be free from the tyranny of Zeus’ order. We will only fight our own battles and not those of petty gods and men. Rejoice, my Amazons! For on this day, we are all finally free!”

Some Amazons cheered. Others just saluted loyally to their goddess and their new queen. The idea of abandoning the home they had protected and cherished for so many centuries didn’t sit well. However, the promise of a new order free from corruption and deceit had plenty of appeal.

For Hera, such an order couldn’t come fast enough. At last, she would not be under the thumb of any man or god. With her loyal Amazons, she could be the goddess she wanted to be. For once, she would have the authority to guide her destiny as she saw fit. It would be glorious in ways that even Zeus could never imagine.

Her Amazons stood ready to carry out her orders. Then, this powerful moment was interrupted by the sound of an ominous thunder echoing from the clouds above. But this was no ordinary thunder. When Hera looked up into the sky, she felt a twinge of dread come over her.

“That…shouldn’t be,” she said distantly.

“What is it, my Goddess? Has Olympus fallen already?” asked Aleka.

“No. This is different.”

More thunder echoed. The warrior instincts of the Amazons kicked in and they all took a more defensive poise. There was no enemy present, but it sure felt like one was approaching. As Hera continued looking at the sky, she noticed ominous purple bolts of lightning streaking across the clouds above. She didn’t recognize them at first. Then she began making some disturbing connections.

“This is…no, it’s not possible!” she said, refusing to assume the worst. “He couldn’t have. He wouldn’t even be able to…”

Before she could finish her thought, a deafening explosion erupted from the south shore of the island. They then heard a series of ominous footsteps heading towards them at high speeds. It was like a stampede of angry animals and it kept getting louder and louder as it drew closer. Every Amazon turned around and drew their swords. They looked around anxiously, expecting a titan to descend upon them at any moment. But as more lightning flashed above, Hera realized this was worse than a titan.

From the thick tropical flora to the south, a cloud of dust descended upon the temple. The Amazons instinctively formed a line around the base of the temple, protecting their queen and their goddess. They all watched as an imposing humanoid figure emerged from this dust. It wasn’t a titan, but it carried itself with the power of one.

“The Annihilator Armor – Ares, what in Hades have you done?” dreaded Hera.

“Stand behind us, my Queen! We will protect you,” said Aleka, already set to lead the charge.

“No…you can’t.”

Neither Aleka nor the Amazons heard her. They were already following their warrior instincts, preparing to charge this lone beast at full strength. Only Hera understood why that would only hasten their doom. While the Amazons didn’t realize just how dangerous it was, Hera now knew that she had been betrayed yet again.

“So this is, Themyscira? The so-called Paradise Island of the gods,” scoffed Lex Luthor from within the Annihilator armor. “It’s not quite as picturesque as I had imagined, but no matter. I’m sure it’ll get better once I’m through with it.”

“You’ve already taken your final steps, beast!” barked Aleka as she ran out ahead of the other Amazons. “We will defend our queen. You will not defeat us on this day. We are Amazons!”

“We are warriors!” the rest of her sisters proclaimed.

This didn’t intimidate Lex Luthor in the slightest. Staring down an army of immortal female warriors was hardly enough to worry him at this point. In fact, this might end up being the most enjoyable part of his plan.

“Go on,” he dared them, the armor already reacting to their hostility. “Please…show me how capable you are at waging war. Try and enjoy it. I know I certainly will!”

* * *

**Up next: Homeward Bound**


	14. Homeward Bound

**Strangers In Paradise**   
**Chapter 14: Homeward Bound**

* * *

**Themyscira**

Every Amazon shared a special connection with their home and the order ordained by the gods. It was part of the many blessings they had received. They could feel when their home was in danger or when the gods were in peril. Many referred to it as a spiritual anchor that kept every Amazon connected to each other and the gods. Even for exiles like, it remained unbroken and strong. At the same time, it also made all the emotions associated with Themyscira more powerful.

These emotions drove Diana towards her homeland as fast as the blessings of Hermes would allow. Her heart raced as fast as the blistering winds that blew past her. As she drew closer and closer to the home she left over a year ago, these feelings of dread escalated. Every nightmare and vision that had plagued her in recent months played out before her eyes. The feelings of death, destruction, and defeat loomed over her with every passing second. It weighed heavily on her spirit and promised to test her resolve in ways for which she couldn’t possibly prepare.

_‘I’m such a fool. I should’ve listened to my heart. All those nightmares and visions – the gods were trying to tell me something and I didn’t listen. I let myself be too concerned about confronting my mother and my sisters again rather than protecting my home. I let my pride keep me from coming to them. I should’ve…’_

Diana had to stop herself as she descended from the clouds and breached the mystical shroud that protected Themyscira. These tormented thoughts did little to ease her dread. If the danger she sensed was as bad as she suspected, then she couldn’t afford to make it worse at this point.

_‘No…I cannot think that way. I can’t obsess over what I should or shouldn’t have done. Kal taught me that. No matter how powerful we are, we can’t obsess over the things we cannot change. We’ll only make it worse. Sometimes we have to swallow our pride, admit our flaws, and confront the dangers that our actions or inactions create. We can’t let our mistakes keep us from doing the right thing.’_

As she contemplated what she did or didn’t do for her home, Diana’s thoughts drifted back to Kal. She shouldn’t have gotten him involved in this. This island had been so hostile to him and his kind. Her sisters and the gods would sooner treat him as just another beast rather than accept his help. But he was going to help anyways and not just because he loved her. To him, this was the right thing to do and that’s the only reason Superman ever needs.

It was also the only reason Diana needed. This was her home and these were her sisters. It didn’t matter that they hated her for consorting with a man. It didn’t matter that they would sooner spit on her and cast her out again before accepting her help. She was going to do the right thing, regardless of what traditions and warrior codes told her. But doing the right thing often meant enduring more hardship and sometimes this hardship couldn’t be endured alone.

_‘I’m putting us both in a very difficult position, Kal. I know I’m putting myself in danger that I might not be equipped to handle. I’m still an exile, scorned by my mother and hated by my sisters. I can’t imagine they’ll forgive me, let alone embrace me. I’m sure I’ll regret this in a great many ways, but that’s exactly why I need you so much.’_

This was the hardest part of doing the right thing in this instance because it required her to do something with Kal that she had been reluctant to do. Their relationship had often been defined by difficult circumstances. Because of those circumstances, they progressed fairly quickly. They didn’t need to go through the more tedious aspects of becoming part of each other’s life. But in order to create a deeper connection that went beyond that of mere lovers, Diana understood that they needed to make themselves vulnerable in ways they never once dared.

_‘By making you a part of this, I need to trust you in ways no Amazon would dare trust a man. Even among lovers, such trust is difficult and risky. I know you’re willing to take that risk, even if you’re not ready. And I love you enough to risk it too. I also know that you love me enough to do what needs to be done if something goes horribly wrong.’_

Diana didn’t allow herself to contemplate those horrible possibilities as Themyscira finally came into view. For the first time in over a year, she laid eyes upon her beloved home. Cloudy skies still hovered over the island, creating choppy waters and an ominous overcast. But as she flew in closer, Diana was greeted by a sight that made many of those horrible possibilities more likely.

“No…my home!” she gasped.

The first thing she noticed was the columns of smoke rising up from the center of the island. She was then bombarded by the sickening smell of burning trees and scorched earth. Fearing that she had arrived too late, she flew in faster until she landed in the center of the island just outside the Temple of Hera. As soon as she took in the sights around her, she realized that part of her nightmare had already transpired.

It looked like a titan had rampaged through her home. Large footsteps dotted the charred ground, leading directly from the shore to the south. Whatever or whoever those steps belonged to, it decimated any tree, shrub, or structure that stood in its way. Buildings, homes, and temples that had remained undamaged for centuries now lay in ruin. Arrows, swords, and spears littered the area, broken and discarded. There was little sign of an Amazon victory. However, the most disturbing part of this battle was that there were also no signs of any Amazons.

In every direction Diana looked, she saw no bodies whatsoever. This disturbed her in a whole new way because she knew that her sisters would gladly fight to the death rather than submit. Whatever transpired here was no ordinary battle.

“By the gods…what happened here?” she wondered.

“Isn’t it obvious?” came a solemn voice from within the temple. “There was a battle, the Amazons fought, and they lost in the worst possible way.”

Diana turned around, fully prepared to fight whoever or whatever survived the battle. To her shock, the voice belonged to none other than Hera, the Amazon’s patron goddess. However, she didn’t look like much of a goddess anymore.

“Goddess Hera!” gasped Diana as she instinctively bowed in her presence. “Forgive me for not recognizing your voice. I…”

“Don’t bother with the empty piety. It’s pointless now. And I’ve no desire to hear it from the likes of _you_ ,” said the Queen of the Gods in an utterly dejected tone.

Diana was taken aback, both by her words and her demeanor. The Temple of Hera was among the few structures still largely intact. And the only one left to tend it was Hera herself. Her once elegant peacock gown had been tattered and torn. Her once flawless hair and complexion had been dirtied by whatever battle had transpired. Now she just sat on the steps of her temper like a commoner, drinking what appeared to be her fourth bottle of wine.

Hera abandoned her regal poise and proud demeanor. She had nothing to be proud of anymore. All was lost. She was so dejected she couldn’t even get too upset about being in the presence of another one of Zeus’ illegitimate offspring.

“Just when I thought fate couldn’t possibly be more cruel,” she muttered. “Here in my time of utter humiliation, I’m confronted by the very reason for my foolishness.”

“Me? The reason?” said Diana in confusion.

“Quit pretending that you don’t know. Or even if you’re not pretending, act like you are anyways. It would be the most merciful recourse I could hope for at this point.”

“Know what?”

“Do I have to spell it out?!” yelled Hera as she threw an empty wine bottle against the wall. “My husband and your mother – my greatest champion – lied to us both. You were never made from clay. You’re just another product of a lustful indulgence between Zeus and a mortal.”

Diana gasped at this revelation, shaking her head in disbelief. There was no way this could be true. Her mother told her the story of her creation time and again. She forged her from clay and prayed for days on end within the Temple of Demeter to bring her to life. The idea that her mother lied about something so important made her sick to her stomach. But this wasn’t some wild accusation from typical drunkard. This came from the goddess Hera herself. She would never be this upset if it weren’t true.

“He must have taken extra satisfaction in making you – the daughter of Lord Zeus and Queen Hippolyta of the Amazons,” Hera went on. “He probably shook the walls of Demeter’s temple. Even the trauma inflicted by Hercules couldn’t prevent Hippolyta from enjoying it.”

“Goddess please…” said Diana, having a hard enough time processing this.

“He might have known that I would do something horrendously foolish if I ever found out. I’m sure plenty of others knew as well. And damn it, I proved them right! I doomed Olympus, the Amazons, and everyone because I was too damn blinded by rage.”

Her bitterness hid the tears forming in her eyes, which she refused to let Diana see. But she could tell they were there. They offered further confirmation that what she said about her heritage was true. She was indeed the daughter of Zeus.

For a moment, Diana looked up at the heavens, as if to speak to the fates. She wanted to yell at the top of her lungs for revealing this to her during this time of crisis. She had enough burdens to deal with. But since nothing she said could possibly change this overwhelming truth, she remained silent. Diana didn’t come here to dig up old secrets about her heritage. She came to protect and, if necessary, save her home and her sisters. From looks of it, she might have to do more than that.

She shifted her attention back towards Hera. Instinct and tradition kept her from approaching the goddess revered by all Amazons. Another affair by Zeus was not enough to cause this kind of disaster. It took something must worse terrible to render a goddess this defeated, especially the wife of Zeus and Queen of Olympus. This had not been part of Diana’s nightmares, but it certainly sparked her intrigue.

“I don’t care whether or not you blame me for your woes, my Goddess. Tell me what happened here. Tell me so I can confront it!” said Diana strongly.

“While I would _love_ to send you to your doom, I don’t have the stomach to be that bitter anymore,” she sighed. “You should consider yourself lucky. You were wise enough to leave before this happened. And if you’re still wise, you’ll leave again and never come back.”

“You know I can’t do that. I won’t,” said Diana.

“Well you should because you’ll just play into his hands like I did. For all I know, this is exactly what he wants you to do.”

“Who is _he_? Who has desecrated my home?!”

“Who else? My son…Ares,” said Hera bitterly. “Who else but my own son could be so cunning and capricious?”

Diana’s intrigue turned to more shock. It was one thing for some terrible danger to descend upon her home and attack her sisters. But the idea of a god that they often worshipped attacking was something far worse. There were many stories of gods’ misdeeds, but the blessing of Olympus was supposed to protect Themyscira. If these gods they once fought for had turned against them, then this was far worse than any nightmare.

“Why in heavens would Ares attack Themyscira? And what did he do to my sisters? Are they even alive?” said Diana in disbelief.

“Ares never needs a good reason to attack anything. If it serves his so-called _war plan_ , then that’s all the reason he needs,” said Hera dryly. “As for the Amazons – well, let’s just say he gave them a fate far less comfortable than death.”

* * *

**Earlier**

“For Themyscira!” roared a determined Aleka with the entire Amazon army behind her.

Standing as one, ready to defend their home and their honor to the death, the Amazons were poised to unleash an onslaught that would’ve drawn back any invading force from the darkest pits of Tartarus. But this armored beast that dared trespass on their island didn’t budge. He just grinned smugly in the face of this onslaught, as though he had nothing to fear.

There was no need to worry about anything for Lex Luthor. The outcome of this battle had already been decided the moment he set foot on this island. He waited patiently, letting Aleka reach him first. He didn’t even prepare to defend himself. That only would’ve kept him from enjoying what was about to happen.

“Go on. I’ll give you a free shot,” said Lex casually.

“DIE ARMORED BEAST!” exclaimed Aleka.

With all her might, the imposing Amazon jumped up into the brisk air and gripped her sword with both hands. She was prepared to drive the blade right into the head of the hulking armor and let her sisters take care of the scraps. She got within only a few feet of wiping that smug grin off the man’s face. Then the armor reacted to her attack without even moving a muscle.

With the lightning still flashing overhead, a powerful burst of purplish energy surrounded the Annihilator armor. The moment Aleka’s blade made contact with the armor, the energy flowed right into her so that it surrounded her body in a similar purplish halo. It caused her to freeze in mid-air, her body now paralyzed. As she hovered, the size of the armor actually grew somewhat. In the process, Lex used it to reach out and grab the powerful woman by the throat.

“Please don’t tell me that was your best shot. It didn’t even tickle,” he taunted.

“Hnn…what trickery is this?” grunted Aleka.

“There’s no trick, I assure you. I was hoping you and your army of harlots wouldn’t be this gullible. Sadly, I’m disappointed,” said Lex.

She tried to struggle against his grip, but that only made it grow larger. Luthor’s grin widened. This was going to be even easier than he thought.

As the purplish energy intensified, he watched it flow into the powerful woman. As it consumed her, it caused her eyes to shift until they started glowing with the same intensity. In the process, Lex felt this woman’s will and spirit submit. She was now a puppet and he didn’t even have to manipulate her to accomplish it. She did all the heavy lifting for him.

“Not bad,” said a very satisfied Lex Luthor. “Ares didn’t do justice to this armor’s power. It really is fueled by war itself. And with a suitable mind at the helm, it can manipulate those who make war. It almost feels like cheating. Then again, I’ve never cared much for playing by the rules.”

Upon releasing Aleka from his grip, she fell to her knees in submission. She didn’t say a word or show a hint of resistance. She was now a slave to war. Yet the other Amazons didn’t seem to notice. If anything, they hastened their attack.

“The beast has somehow corrupted Aleka,” gasped Daphne, now leading the charge. “Destroy this monstrosity! Free our sister!”

“Yes…do continue this petty war,” taunted Luthor. “I’d like to get this over with quickly.”

The Amazons let out another round of war cries. However, these cries kept making the Annihilator armor stronger. It continued to grow in size, now standing at nearly twice its original height. As soon as the first Amazons struck by launching spears and arrows at it, the same purplish energy that infected Aleka began to spread. All Lex Luthor had to do was keep provoking them.

It wasn’t a battle as much as it was a trap that every Amazon blindly walked into. Their warrior spirit wouldn’t allow them to do anything else. They attacked relentlessly, slashing with their swords and firing arrows from afar. The results were always the same. The Annihilator armor didn’t get a scratch. And by attacking them, the purplish energy that consumed Aleka infected the rest of the Amazons.

One-by-one, the energy paralyzed them where they stood, surrounding them in a halo of light and causing their eyes to glow in a steady vacant glare. They could do little to resist. Their own determination fueled it, making the armor stronger and bigger in the process. Luthor didn’t even have to move from where he stood, letting the Amazons attack while he focused on solidifying his hold on them. Only Hera had the faintest idea of what was happening. By the time she realized his plan, it was too late.

“Stop attacking! Don’t you see? You’re only making it stronger!” Hera cried out.

“They can’t hear you. They won’t. Their _warrior pride_ won’t let them,” retorted Lex from within the Annihilator Armor.

This man proved himself painfully right. By now, the Annihilator Armor had grown so big that some of the remaining Amazons figured out that attacking it directly was the worst possible tactic. But by now, he didn’t need them to attack to seize control of them.

Armed with their bloodlust, Luthor finished the job and used the energy from the armor to seize control over the rest of the Amazons. Once complete, he clenched his fist and had all of them bow down obediently. They no longer had any will of their own. They were now true pawns, as they were always intended to be. The only one remaining was Hera and despite being a goddess, she no longer posed any threat.

“Whatever Ares has promised you, I demand that you stop!” she proclaimed. “I am Hera, Queen of Olympus. You will release my Amazons or suffer my wrath.”

“Quit pretending your godly title has any meaning to me,” scoffed Lex. “It clearly had little meaning to these women you claimed to cherish. Just look at how eager they were to throw themselves into a battle they couldn’t win. No god is _that_ inept.”

“I’m warning you…”

“And I’m ignoring your warning. You might be able to impose your will on lesser mortals, but I’m not one of them. And before you warn me about trusting your son, let me make one thing clear – he’s even more inept than _you_.”

No mortal had ever dared speak to her with such disrespect. It filled Hera with so much rage that she launched her own attack, taking to the air and flying right at the head of the armor at speeds that rivaled Hermes. This mortal, not to mention her own son, dared to plot against her. She couldn’t stand any further indignity.

Lex remained unthreatened, if not bored by her outburst. As soon as she got close enough, he casually swatted her with the armor and sent her flying back into her own temple. She crashed hard, doing significant damage in the process. Had Luthor not been behind schedule, he would’ve stuck around to enjoy this.

“So that’s what it feels like to smite a god. I must admit, it’s not nearly as satisfying as I hoped,” he sighed.

With the Annihilator armor still flushed with power, Lex Luthor flexed his powerful new muscles. He felt so strong in this armor that he could snap Superman’s neck without breaking a sweat. If his own plans played out accordingly, he might get to do just that. For now, he had more pressing matters.

“Come, my new army. Let us pay a visit to your beloved deities,” ordered Lex. “Hopefully the other phony gods on Olympus are more of a challenge.”

* * *

**Present Time**

Hera muttered a string of curses as she opened up another bottle of wine and started drinking. After describing the defeat of the Amazons at the hands of the Annihilator Armor and the destruction of Themyscira, she needed a drink.

“Here…you probably need this almost as much as I do,” said Hera as she tossed another bottle towards Diana.

“I don’t need a drink. I need to know where this man took my sisters and why you’re not going after them,” said Diana.

“Weren’t you listening?” groaned Hera, already downing half the bottle. “He said he was on his way to Olympus. He probably used the Gates of Tartarus to get there. As for why I’m not going after them, the simple reason is I _can’t_.”

“Can’t? Or won’t?” said Diana critically.

“Don’t you dare talk down to me, you illegitimate brat! If I could, do you think I would be drinking myself into a stupor like this? This is Ares we’re dealing with. He made sure that nobody can disrupt his plans at this point – especially his mother.”

Hera angrily threw the empty bottle across the ruins of her temple. It shattered on impact, much like her spirit. Here she was, a queen among goddesses who finally escaped her philandering husband, and now she was queen of nothing. Her Amazons were gone. Olympus was doomed. All she had was ruin. Worst of all, she played into the hands of her malevolent son. She should’ve seen it coming, but she was too blinded by her hatred of Zeus. She let him use her and she made it way too easy for him.

Diana refused to let her emotions blind her, but these revelations made that difficult. The events surrounding the Annihilator Armor and the defeat of her sisters were bad enough, but along the way Hera added another painful revelation about her heritage. She didn’t believe it at first, her being the daughter of Zeus. It meant her mother had been lying to her all her life. It further added to the conflict between them and this latest conflict ensured she would never confront her mother about it.

The former Queen of Olympus cared little for Diana’s emotional turmoil. She just grabbed another unopened bottle of wine and started drinking again. It was all she could do at this point.

“When I awoke from my little nap, I found out that the Annihilator had ransacked the whole island. I think Ares wanted to make sure that none of the Amazons had anything to go back to should they escape his hold,” said Hera after opening the bottle. “He also cast some sort of spell on the gate, making it so no gods could get in or out. I guess he didn’t want them seeking refuge in the mortal world.”

“And now you’re just going to drink your problems away? How will that do justice to my sisters… _your_ champions?” asked Diana.

“It won’t. That’s the point. Ares knows the rules of Olympus and how to exploit them,” she said solemnly as she gazed distantly down at the bottle. “Even if there was a way to get around the spell, it would take too long. As we speak, Ares is unleashing his attack on Olympus. And he’s going to unleash something far worse before he’s done.”

“And you think he’s capable of overthrowing Zeus?”

“I don’t just think it. I _know_ it. I know because I helped him. And I might have destroyed everything I hold dear in the process. So if it’s all the same to you, I’d rather you spare me further scorn. There’s nothing you can do or say to make me feel worse than I already do.”

Hera stared at the bottle a little longer before taking another gulp. Diana just kept glaring at her, astonished that this was the same goddess her sisters had worshipped for centuries. She was so defeated and cold, the complete antithesis of the ideal of feminine strength and compassion. She wouldn’t even look her in the eye out of disgust for herself and her being another embodiment of Zeus’ infidelity. If the will of a goddess had been broken, what hope did she have?

Diana finally turned away from the sulking Hera and took in the sight of her devastated home. She hugged her shoulders in an effort to retain what strength she had left. She returned home expecting to confront hostile sisters and embittered mother. Now she faced something far worse. Her sisters were now under the control of Ares. Her mother was imprisoned. The very order the Amazons were supposed to protect now lay on the brink of ruin. None of her nightmares could’ve possibly done justice to such horror. Now she might be the only one left that could save her home and her sisters.

“If you’re not going to do anything, then I will,” said Diana strongly.

“Then you might as well dive head-first into the nearest volcano. That would be much easier,” said Hera.

“I’ll do it with or without your blessing,” she retorted. “My sister needs me. My mother needs me. I will _not_ turn away from them.”

“And you really think you can save them?” scoffed Hera.

“You said that spell prevents gods and goddesses from passing through. You never said anything about demigods, which I guess is what I am now.”

“You are just another mistake – a perversion of what the Amazons stand for. You’re also a walking testament to man’s insatiable lust. Whether they’re mortal or god, they’ll never be trustworthy. They’ll only ever promise as much as they can get away with. And even then, they’ll find a way to betray you.”

Diana turned back to the former Queen of the Gods that she once worshipped. She didn’t sound very godly anymore. She sounded like any other woman who had been deceived and scorned by a man. She was a lot like her mother in that respect, letting her experiences with men dictate her attitudes about them. In her eyes, mankind wasn’t worth saving. She might be the product of a man’s weakness, but she would not let that define her.

There were still a lot of questions she wanted answered. There were questions about her conception, about Ares’ plan, and the Annihilator Armor. However, she didn’t have time to gather all the answers she wanted. She doubted Hera would even give them anyways. Diana would have to go it alone, without the blessings of her sister or the gods.

“I’m sorry you feel that way, Goddess Hera. I know even gods are vulnerable to despair. I really do wish you could see beyond your bitterness,” said Diana, her strength finally overcoming her emotions.

“Spare me your pity. I can do without the pity of Zeus’ illegitimate brats,” scoffed Hera as she threw away another bottle.

“It’s not pity. I’m speaking to the goddess I know you still strive to be – the goddess that symbolizes the strengths and ideals of womanhood.”

“When you’ve been demeaned as much as I have, it’s hard to symbolize _anything_ ,” said Hera.

“That’s what makes it worthwhile,” Diana retorted. “I’ve been living in man’s world for over a year now. In that time, I’ve gained a better understanding for what it means to be a strong woman. Maybe that’s something the gods need as well – a better understanding of what they are and what they represent.”

Hera scoffed at Diana’s tone. Were she not already defeated and humiliated, she would’ve unleashed her wrath on this foolish child of Zeus. Instead, she continued to seek comfort in wine and bitterness.

“Now _you’re_ lecturing _me_ on what I represent…or used to represent? That’s even more demeaning!”

“Only if you lack humility, a value both gods and mortals often fail to understand. It’s an honorable trait among honorable women and men. That’s something else we’ve clearly forgotten. But I haven’t. That’s why I’m going after Ares.”

“You’ll only doom yourself,” spat Hera. “Don’t you see? This is exactly what he wants. You’re playing right into his plan.”

“Who’s to say I don’t have one of my own?” she retorted cryptically, “And if you’re not going to contribute, then at least allow me the chance to carry it out honorable.”

“I’m no God of War, but I don’t see how any plan that involves walking right into Ares’ grasp can be honorable.”

“That’s only because it involves another value that gods and mortals often fail to understand,” said Diana.

“And what value might that be?” said Hera skeptically.

“Trust.”

Diana still wouldn’t face her patron goddess. She had already set her sights on the Gate of Tartarus. She could already feel the war raging within, most likely under the guidance of the God of War himself. Getting through it and to the peak of Olympus would not be easy. It might even be exactly what Ares wanted her to do, but she had no intention of backing down from this fight.

The former Queen of Olympus just stared at Diana in bemusement, but she made it clear that she would not be dissuaded. She would brave whatever obstacles lay before her to confront Ares. It was still foolish in ways that only a bastard child of Zeus could manage, but there was no denying her courage. There was also no denying the influence of the mortal world.

“This might be the wine talking, but I have to ask…was he worth it?” said Hera, now looking at another empty wine bottle.

“Was who worth it?” said Diana.

“That man – the Superman – that you left this island for. Was it worth tearing yourself away from the only life you had ever known? Even now as you’re about to make the most reckless decision of your immortal life, was he truly worth it?”

Diana turned back to face her goddess one last time. This time, she smiled with a confidence that any goddess would respect.

“Yes,” she answered. “He was worth it. And no matter how reckless this decision might be, I’d do it again in a heartbeat.”

“Then remember these words before Ares snaps your neck and claims Olympus as his own because you’ll never hear them from any god or goddess – I envy you.”

It was a startling admission from a goddess not known for admitting her faults. Hera might have attributed it to all the wine she had ingested, but that didn’t make it any less sincere. As she held her head low and sought more solace in drink, Diana offered her patron goddess a look of compassion. She didn’t acknowledge it, but it conveyed the necessary feelings.

The Queen of Olympus had lost all hope. Her sisters and mother had already been defeated. Everything now rested on Diana’s shoulders. With the strength and determination of a true Amazon warrior, she took off and made her way to the Gates of Tartarus. Having made so many difficult decisions that put her at odds with everyone she loved and the ideals she championed, she stood ready to shoulder that burden. But unlike the heroes of old, she was prepared to trust another to share that burden.

* * *

**London – First Royal Bank**

“Thanks again for helping me with this, Hessia,” said Clark as they entered the heavily secure bank vault.

“Please stop thanking me, Clark. You have no idea how much I’ve been dreading this day,” replied Hessia.

“I know. And I’m sorry,” he told her.

“Don’t apologize either. You’re too good and decent a man to blame yourself for this. It had to happen sooner or later. I just didn’t think it would be _this_ soon.”

Every Amazon went into battle ready to sacrifice their lives to achieve victory. However, no Amazon dared make that sacrifice without taking precautions to ensure that it was not in vain. Amazons cherished their lives and those of their sisters. They went to every possible length to preserve and protect those lives, even if it meant bending certain rules.

Even exiled Amazons understood that there might come a time when they would have to return to Themyscira. It was also a given that such a return would require the most dire of circumstances. This most certainly qualified. Like Diana, Hessia sensed the sudden discord on Themyscira. She had been prepared to carry out her own precautions. Then Clark arrived at her front door and told her about Diana. This changed her plans, but promised to complicate others.

Hessia knew the day Diana arrived that they would have to bend more than a few rules to prepare for this moment. They must have spent at least a week debating on how they would go about this. Since Diana was the princess and left Themyscira on such unique circumstances, they had to do something different. It had to be bold, ambitious, and even a little reckless. She convinced Hessia that if she ever returned to Themyscira, it would be under the worst possible circumstances. As such, Hessia went to great lengths to ensure they had something that would allow them to navigate those circumstances.

This is what led them to the First Royal Bank. This was where Diana set up a private account under a false identity. Hessia was the only one who had the key to access it and she prayed she would never have to access it. Unfortunately, that day had come. After signing the necessary papers and accessing the vault, she used the key to open the box and retrieved the contents inside.

“We’ll need to discuss this in private,” said Hessia with her hands still in the box. “What I’m about to tell you is _very_ important. And if my sisters found out, I would likely suffer a fate far worse than exile.”

“I understand,” said Clark. “I promise you anything you say to me will remain secret.”

“No need to promise. You’re Diana’s lover. That makes you worthy of my trust. I just hope it also makes you worthy of this.”

Clark followed Hessia out of the vault and into one of the private rooms where they could look over the contents. The bank even had a security guard stand outside the door. He couldn’t see what she had in her hand, but he assumed it was very important.

As soon as the door was closed and locked, Hessia laid the contents of the deposit box out on the table. It was small and surrounded in a linin cloth. When she unwrapped it, she revealed a jeweled pennant bearing all the features of Greco-Roman design. It was circular in shape and coated in polished gold. In the center was a large heart-shaped red ruby that had a distinct glow to it. While Clark was not usually a fan of magic, he could definitely sense mystical energy within this gem. When Hessia set it on the table, the light from the ruby flickered as if to react to the mood of the room.

“What you’re looking at is something I shouldn’t possess,” said Hessia. “You don’t need to know how I got it. You just need to know that it’s one of those ancient relics that should still be locked within the vaults of Olympus.”

“I won’t ask any questions. I’ll just assume it involves the kinds of magic I don’t care to understand,” said Clark.

“It’s gone by a few names, but the Amazons called it the Pennant of Athena. Its origin is somewhat of a mystery. According to the story I was told, Athena forged it to help her navigate the River Styx during the war against the titans. It guided her and all those who wielded it through any barrier, shield, or illusion that kept them from their goal.”

“So it’s like a mystical form of GPS?”

“Well if some of the other stories I’ve heard are true, it’s that and much more,” Hessia went on. “At some point after the great war, the pennant was given a new enchantment. The details are lost, but it somehow has the ability for anyone, god or mortal, to seek out whoever has marked it with their blood.”

“So that means if it was marked with Diana’s blood, it would take me to her no matter where she ends up?”

“It would actually do you one better,” she said. “It would take you there, protect you from any barriers or shields that might be in your way, and remove any corrupting influences that might taint the wielder or the one it seeks. Since Themyscira is protected by a mystical shroud, you and anyone else who isn’t Amazon or a god would need it just to get there.”

“Guess it’s a lot easier than getting shipwrecked again and hoping I wash up on the right shore.”

“I don’t disagree, but that reason alone isn’t why she would want you to have this. The pennant also creates a cloak around the wielder, allowing them to navigate Themyscira and the realm of the gods without being detected. It provides stealth so effective that at one point, the gods ordered its destruction. That’s probably why it ended up in the mortal world. It’s also probably why Diana saw fit to use it in the event of a disaster on Olympus. Either she or someone she trusted had to have the ability to aid her.”

It was a pretty impressive list of qualities. Clark was beginning to see why Diana deemed this item so important. If she was going up against gods and monsters, then getting to her in her time of need would be the biggest challenge. Getting there without attracting too much attention was the second biggest and from what she told her about the realm of the gods, even Superman would have difficulty navigating all the obstacles. This relic effectively solved both those problem. However, he had a feeling it would create others, as was often the case with magic.

“There’s more, I’m afraid. And this is where it gets a little _volatile_ ,” said Hessia.

“It would expect nothing less. Magic always has a way of getting volatile,” said Clark.

“Not like this,” she said anxiously as she gazed at the pennant. “After Diana _somehow_ convinced me to use this as her failsafe if her return to Themyscira went bad, she used her blood to mark the pennant.”

“Makes sense,” he shrugged. “Wouldn’t she have to anyways to get it to work?”

“She would, but something about her blood triggered a _reaction_ within the pennant. I’m not entirely sure what it was. Diana wasn’t sure either. But before I stored it here in this vault, I ran a few tests. Without giving you a crash course in Amazonian mystical knowledge, I’ll just say that the pennant behaved in ways it shouldn’t have for an Amazon…or any mortal for that matter.”

“How so?” he asked nervously.

To help explain her point, Hessia picked up the pennant. As soon as she touched it, the ruby in the center reacted. It flickered with a greater intensity, resembling that of a human heartbeat. It effectively demonstrated that the magic within this relic was in tuned to energies of life. This helped make it useful, but it also made it dangerous in ways that went beyond its intended use.

“In all forms of magic, there are often two sets of rules,” Hessia explains. “One governs its use by mortals like you and me. Another governs its use by the gods. Needless to say, the rules for the gods tend to be less predictable because they’re not subject to mortal limits.”

“And something about those limits doesn’t apply here,” Clark surmised.

“That’s what concerns me. For reasons I still don’t understand, Diana’s blood allowed the relic to resonate with her life signs and spirit, but it also began resonated with another form of energy. I can’t determine the source. I can only surmise that it’s strong and it breaks a significant number of rules.”

“Breaking rules tend to have consequences,” he pointed out.

“You’re very right. And I cannot determine what those consequences might be. I can only say that using this relic without understanding these anomalies make it very dangerous, even for you. It might help you find Diana, but it might also become a mystical bomb that blows up in your face.”

Hessia tried to make clear the extent of the danger in using the Pennant of Athena. However, Clark remained undeterred. He had already made his choice. So long as this relic helped him reach Diana and help her in her time of need, he was willing to risk it. No amount of danger would keep him from aiding the woman he loved.

Seeing no fear or reservation in his eyes, Hessia clung to the pennant a bit longer before finally placing it on the table. When Diana first arrived, she worried that she would have to be the one to use this relic to help her. Having aged since her exile, she didn’t feel like she could be the warrior she needed to be for her sister. This man, however, had no such worries. He was prepared to go father and fight harder than any mortal, warrior, or god.

“There are any number of other dangers I could list, but I doubt any of them would change your mind,” said Hessia.

“You’re right. It wouldn’t,” affirmed Clark, not taking his eyes off the relic.

“Then before you take the pennant and fly off, let me just say one more thing that needs to be said. Diana will never say it so I guess I’ll have to.”

“By all means,” he replied.

This promised to be just as difficult as explaining the dangers of venturing into Tartarus or wielding a volatile artifact. Being an Amazon, Hessia had painfully little experience when it came to love. She had seen it in others to varying degrees, but she had never seen it unfold the way it had with Diana and Clark. Diana was willing to trust him with this relic. He was just as willing to brave the worst that Themyscira and Olympus could throw at him to get to Diana. Having seen Diana’s relationship with this man blossom before her eyes over these past six months, she understood just how important it was that she trusted him to do this. Such powerful emotions carried equally powerful implications.

“You love Diana. That much I’m certain of,” said Hessia. “I’m also certain that Diana loves you too. She’s made that abundantly clear to me on numerous occasions.”

“I believe you,” said Clark distantly, his thoughts never straying far from Diana.

“But being an Amazon raised in Greco-Roman traditions, we’re told a great many stories that involve the joys and perils of love. Nearly everyone knows the joys, but few understand the perils. Part of loving someone means being with them and being with them involves being part of their world…and all the conflicts they entail. It’s hard enough for ordinary people living ordinary lives without gods, aliens, or superpowers. Naturally, it’s going to be much harder for men like you and women like Diana.”

Clark finally tore his gaze away from the Pennant of Athena. His immediate inclination was to grab the relic and follow it to wherever Diana might be so he could aid her. He managed to hold himself back because what Hessia was saying definitely had merit. He owed it to her and to Diana to listen.

“I don’t know how familiar you are with Greco-Roman mythology, but there are more a number of stories where getting caught up in the conflicts of the gods doesn’t end well…especially for lovers,” Hessia continued.

“I’ve taken a few ancient literature classes. I know the stories you’re referring to,” said Clark.

“Then I don’t have to be too graphic when I say that what you’re about to do for Diana – it’s a lot more than most men are willing to do for a woman they’ve only been dating for six months.”

“I’m not most men. And Diana isn’t most women,” replied Clark.

“It’s for that very reason that this is such a big step,” said Hessia. “If these stories are any indication, the odds are not in your favor. Personally, I believe that the love you and Diana have is strong enough to beat those odds. But you need to understand – and Diana needs to understand as well – that you’ll be supporting each other in ways you might not be ready for.”

“Does it really matter if we’re ready at this point?”

“It does if you want your love to be the kind that makes you stronger,” she said. “You can love someone with all your heart, but if you can’t be part of their world – well, let’s just say those are limits even gods cannot overcome. And by entering the conflicts of the gods, your love will be forever strengthened or utterly destroyed.”

It made the task before him more daunting than it already was. It was a task few men were prepared to confront. He knew Diana for only three weeks in his youth and had only dated her for six months. They were still at a stage in their relationship where they were learning to live together as civilians and superheroes. Now they had to take a much bolder leap, confronting the personal conflicts that plagued them as individuals and embracing them together.

It was a lot for any man to contemplate. This was one instance where the line between Clark Kent and Superman disappeared and he just saw himself as one man wanting to be with the one woman he loved. It made him feel painfully human at a time when he was preparing to take on actual gods, but in many ways, this only made him feel stronger. There was no ambiguity. There was no uncertainty. He knew what he was facing and he had to face it as Clark Kent, Superman, and everything in between.

With Hessia’s words in mind, he took the Pennant of Athena in his hand. As soon as he touched it, the ruby in the center reacted again. This time, its radiance was even stronger, sensing both his heartbeat and his love for Diana. He could already feel it guiding him, like a compass pointing him in the direction of his lover. As its power flowed through him, his decisions and his heart came together in a single resolve.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Clark told her. “Thanks again for all your help, Hessia. I know you said it wasn’t necessary, but I’ll say it anyways.”

“Then I guess this is we part ways and you start following your heart,” sighed Hessia. “I don’t know if the gods can even hear my prayers anymore, but I’ll still pray for you and Diana.”

“I appreciate that,” he said with a smile. “What about you? Do you intend to confront this conflict as well?”

“Honestly…I don’t know,” sighed Hessia. “Unlike Diana, I didn’t choose my exile. It was imposed on me.”

“At this point, should it really matter?” he questioned.

“I don’t know. I can only do so much as an Amazon at this point. I can’t imagine I’ll be able to contribute more than you.”

“You don’t have to be able to do everything. You just have to be willing to do the right thing for the right reasons,” said Clark.

“Is that a common theme of Kryptonian mythology?” asked Hessia.

“No. It’s just something that being human teaches you.”

Clark gave Hessia another reassuring smile before pocketing the amulet and exiting the room, leaving the jaded Amazon in a state of uncertainty. He more than convinced her that Diana was in good hands. Armed with that pennant, he could do far more for her than she ever could. Hessia didn’t intend on getting involved in this conflict out of concern that it would further complicate tensions among her sisters. Now she wasn’t so certain.

_‘Do the right thing. Why does that sound so daunting? Then again, that might be a sign that I should do it.’_

She was already contemplating what she would have to do and how hard it would be to do it. But she didn’t let it overwhelm her. Even after Clark left, Hessia found herself smiling and shaking her head. That man was a cut above the rest and not just because of his strength. Maybe she, and every Amazon for that matter, could learn something from that.

_‘I can see why she loves him so much. His greatest strength lies in his heart. I just hope that’ll be enough to get him through this. Gods be with you, Clark Kent. Gods be with you, Diana. For all I know, they need your mercy as much as you’ll need theirs.’_

* * *

**Mount Olympus**

“The gates of Olympus have been breached! Defend the summit at all costs!” ordered Zeus from the peak of Olympus.

The gods were facing their greatest threat since the great war against the titans. Mount Olympus was under siege. The chaos they had had been fighting for centuries had manifested into a powerful force that surprised and overwhelmed them. Hordes of powerful monsters, undead soldiers, and renegade souls attacked the domain of the gods from every direction. Harpies darkened the skies, minotaurs and cyclopses attacked heavy fortifications, undead soldiers swarmed every possible opening, and angry souls attempted to infect anything and anyone in their path. These were all creatures that the gods were used to defeating with relative ease. But there was something different guiding them this time that made them far more imposing.

_‘They just keep coming! Our defenses – our barriers that have secured Olympus for centuries…gone or rendered useless. These creatures shouldn’t be able to even approach our defenses. They should never have been able to find their way out of Tartarus. This after my wife learns of my latest secret offspring…it cannot be coincidence.’_

The King of Olympus was convinced. This attack was not the result of complacency or incompetence. This attack was too coordinated and too efficient to be the result of traditional chaos. These creatures should never have been able to get around Olympus’ many defenses. Somebody had to both let them in and direct them in a way that would overwhelm and overpower the might of the gods. The number of beings capable of such a feat was short and Zeus already had his suspicions. But for the moment, he focused on protecting his domain.

While he stood atop the summit, hurling thunderbolts upon swarms of harpies and winged demons, Poseidon led the attack to defend the base of Olympus. Using the lakes and streams that surrounded the mountain, he summoned various sea creatures to come to his aid. Other gods such as Hermes, Helios, Demeter, and Athena aided him, utilizing their various powers and talents to destroy the creatures pouring in. But for every one they destroyed, ten more seemed to pour in from an unknown source.

Their inability to push back these forces further added to his suspicions. He also noticed that not every god had heeded his command. One god in particular was absent from this battle. Apollo, being the God of Light, should’ve been among the first to defend Olympus. For reasons he did not have time surmise, he was nowhere to be seen. Athena and Artemis told him just after the battle began that he had not returned from the mortal realm. This alone was a serious crime. It was also a sign that his fellow gods might be working against him.

Every god and goddess could feel the very foundations of their order crumbling. This led Hades and a few others, including Charon and Nyx, returned to the Underworld in hopes of securing their domain and acquiring reinforcements. Zeus ordered him to return with those reinforcements as soon as possible, but he fully expected his brother to do what was in his own best interest just as he expected Apollo to serve his. And from what he could see from atop the summit, that might not include preserving Olympus.

_‘I cannot count on Hades returning with the armies of the Underworld, nor can I count on Apollo to have a valid excuse for his absence. For all I know, the Underworld is under siege as well and so is the mortal realm. If they both didn’t have so much to lose by Olympus falling, I might suspect them of facilitating such an attack. But neither of them are that brazen. They, along with every other god, understand the danger of undermining the balance of forces to such a degree…although a few might not particularly care.’_

The father of Olympus had every intention of making those responsible for this pay. He also had every intention of preserving Olympus and all it stood for until his dying breath. He led his fellow gods to victory against the titans. He could do so again, especially against armies of lesser creatures.

Zeus tapped into more of his godly power, rising up above the summit and unleashing larger and larger thunderbolts. The skies above Olympus flashed and sparked with massive displays of power, killing off a good chunk of the harpies and winged demons that attempted to attack. While more kept attacking and the forces below continued to advance, he had no intention of letting up his assault. He would slaughter every one of these creatures between Olympus and the Underworld if he had to. He was still king and his power was still absolute.

“Poseidon, direct your forces to advance into the oncoming armies. Follow them all the way to the River Styx if you have to,” ordered Zeus, his booming voice echoing throughout the mountain. “Helios, get on your chariot and fill the skies with the fires of the sun. Athena, you and Hermes reinforce the inner sanctums. And tell Hephaestus that his forge had better be working at full capacity. Break out every weapon in his arsenal if you must and tell him to…”

“Save your breath, father. They’re fighting a losing battle and so are you,” came a powerful voice from the clouds of monsters above.

Zeus recognized that voice immediately. It essentially confirmed his burning suspicions as to who was behind this atrocity. Looking up into the cloud of oncoming harpies, he saw Ares fly out ahead of them from atop a black Pegasus covered in war armor. He was much more imposing than the pestilent brat he threw into the Oblivion Vault months ago. He wasn’t just wearing his battle armor again. He was surrounded by a powerful new energy that somehow allowed him to direct the harpies away from him as he approached. There was something very perverse and unsettling about his power. Zeus already regretted not inflicting a harsher punishment on his son.

“Ares! I knew it had to be _you_ ,” yelled Zeus. “Only you are capable of such sacrilege!”

“Oh I’m capable of much more than that. If you’re at all wise, you’ll retreat and salvage what little dignity you have left,” taunted Ares as he flew up right into his father’s line of sight.

“Insolent brat! You dare talk down to your father and your king?”

With a rage that would’ve obliterated an army of titans, Zeus unleashed a full arsenal of his thunderbolts upon Ares. It was so powerful it filled the sky with blinding blue flashes, triggering shockwaves and bursts that startled even his fellow gods from below. No one, even a god, could possibly endue such a blow. However, Ares remained utterly unthreatened.

“I’ll take that as a no,” he said with a grin.

Before the full force of the attack could strike him, the energy surrounding Ares flashed and he disappeared in flash of light and reappeared through a miniature gateway that appeared right behind his father. The sheer scale of the attack actually left Zeus fatigued, a feeling he rarely showed or even experienced. It was such a satisfying sight.

“What…what perverse trickery is this?” said Zeus breathlessly.

“It’s not trickery and it’s hardly perverse. I like to think of it more an _exploit_ ,” he said proudly. “It’s a basic principle of war. If you can’t get around an entrance, you make your own.”

“That gateway…these creatures…you’re the one behind them. You’re tearing holes between the realms and exploiting them, aren’t you?” surmised Zeus.

“That’s not all I’m doing, but I’m glad you noticed. Would it be too much if I hoped you would be proud?”

“You’ve now gone beyond being insolent, Ares. Are you mad? Such recklessness could cause every realm to completely collapse!”

“Only if you lack the tools and will. You’ve always had one, but not the other. It was only a matter of time before someone else came along to do what you wouldn’t,” said Ares.

“What I’ll do…is make you pay for your crimes,” said Zeus. “You think the Oblivion Prison was torture? You’ll soon consider that an act of mercy!”

He tried attacking with another thunderbolt, but Ares just evaded it again with the same tactic. Using this perverse new power of his, he opened another gateway and vanished through just before the bolt struck. Zeus tried again, but the outcome was the same. He kept firing thunderbolt after thunderbolt, filling the sky with more massive sparks that took out plenty of harpies and winged demons in the process. But all it succeeded in doing was furthering his fatigue.

Ares let his father wear himself out, utilizing a cunning worthy of the God of War. He knew from previous experiences that he could not overpower his father directly. He had to let the King of the Gods defeat himself, allowing his pride and his arrogance to blind him. Zeus still fought under the assumption that the rules of his order still applied. He was about to find out just how wrong he was.

“You immature…reckless…coward!” yelled Zeus as he kept up his thunderbolt barrage. “Do you really think…you’re fit to be king?”

“Look around you, Father. I think your question answers itself,” retorted Ares. “If not, maybe _this_ will get the point across.”

After dodging another thunderbolt, Ares appeared in front of Zeus again. Before he could strike with another thunderbolt, he finally showed off some power of his own. The strange new energy surrounding him grew, expanding to create a large shell of purplish light that filled the darkened skies. Zeus, now starting to feel the effects of his fatigue, had to fall back to avoid it. But in doing so, he saw the effects of what Ares was doing.

As he looked at the creatures flying around him and the massive hoards attacking below, he noticed their eyes glowing with the same purplish energy. It revealed that Ares was actually directing them with his own will. This shouldn’t have been possible, even with Olympian powers. Like opening new gateways between the realms, it was extremely dangerous. Ares somehow managed to get away with it. This meant all these powerful creatures followed his guidance and his undeniable cunning.

“That power…it is not of this realm,” dreaded Zeus.

“You’re half-right,” said Ares ominously, “But you don’t need to know about the other half. All you need to know is that the very chaos you’ve been combating all these centuries is now mine to control.”

“You can’t possibly such control won’t disrupt the natural order. You’ll end up destroying yourself _and_ us!”

“Are you saying that because you’re _so_ worried about the natural order? Or that I might do a better job solving the problems you couldn’t?” quipped the God of War.

“You are but a child obsessed with war. You don’t comprehend the danger of attempting to control that which _cannot_ be controlled.”

“Again, you’re half-right. You’re just leaving out the part about that which _you_ cannot control. Call me what you want. Scold me like a father is supposed to scold his son. It won’t change one inescapable truth. You’re just not strong enough to be king anymore.”

True to his arrogance, Zeus let out another angry grunt before unleashing another onslaught of thunderbolts. Ares evaded it again using another portal, taking more and more satisfaction in his father’s frustration. At this point, Zeus’ attacks were doing damage to the summit and disrupting the efforts of his fellow gods below. He cared less and less about proving him wrong and more about appearing strong. It would’ve been so pathetic if the forces involved weren’t so dangerous.

“You know _nothing_ …of true strength, Ares. You never have. You’ll destroy us all…if you think otherwise,” said Zeus, now short of breath.

“There’s another possibility you refuse to entertain,” quipped the God of War. “I could actually succeed.”

“You…won’t!” spat the King of the Gods.

“Spoken like a weak, beleaguered king. Will you not even entertain that possibility, father? That your son might be able to bring order where you have not?”

“I know…what you’re capable of. And the order I seek…the order our realms demand…is not possible for a war-monger like you!”

Zeus tried to launch another attack, but this time Ares didn’t let him. He had goaded his father enough. Tapping into the new energy he now wielded, he expanded the purplish aura surrounding him until it consumed Zeus. The King of the Gods was unprepared for this energy. It rendered him stunned, a feeling he hadn’t experienced since the great war. Before he could recover and counter, Ares flew in on his Pegasus and grabbed his father’s arm.

“I didn’t expect you to be reasonable, father. I just expected you to wear yourself out to the point where you would be vulnerable,” taunted Ares.

“You would dare…strike your king…your father?” yelled Zeus as he fought his father’s grip.

“Said the god who killed his own father,” laughed Ares, “But don’t worry. I’m not you. I’m _better_ than you. I’m going to prove to you and every god on Olympus that I can bring the order you can’t.”

“The other gods…will stop you. Or you’ll…stop yourself.”

“We’ll see,” said Ares snidely. “I fully intend to prove you wrong. I also intend to make sure that you and the other gods can only watch.”

Ares felt his father prepare another attack. He still had plenty of power with which to fight. Zeus would defend his power until his dying breath and his power was still inherently greater. But the God of War understood that he didn’t have to kill his father in order to defeat him.

As Zeus prepared another attack, Ares expanded the purplish energy around him even more. It soon consumed a significant portion of the skies above Olympus. All the creatures and spirits below react as well, demonstrating the strength with which Ares wielded this power. With it, he opened up a series of portals, tearing more holes in a realm that was already very unstable. They all appeared in front of or behind every god and goddess fighting for Zeus. And in one coordinated push, all the creatures under Ares’ control shoved them into the portal.

“What…what are you doing?” gasped Zeus.

“Something I rarely do and will probably regret – showing you mercy,” said the God of War.

Ares made sure Zeus saw every one of his fellow gods vanish into the portals, leaving him as the sole defender of Olympus. He then had to watch as Ares’ forces completely overwhelmed his domain, taking control of everything he had built and fought so hard to protect. It was cruel and cunning, even for the God of War. It filled him with more outrage, so much so that he didn’t notice a similar portal forming behind him. With a simple shove, Ares pushed his father into the portal and watched him struggle in vain as it consumed him.

“ARES!” was all he could get out before he disappeared.

“I hope you enjoy your stay in the Oblivion Prison as much as I did, father. You’ll have a front row seat to the final war between gods and mortals.”

When the portal closed, Ares stood in triumph over the summit of Mount Olympus. He watched with the utmost satisfaction as his endless armies occupied this pillar of power amongst the gods. It would’ve been so easy to just raze it to the ground, turning into a glorified hill of dirt. There were any number of places in any number of realms to construct another palace fitting for a god of his power. But he planned on saving such a satisfying moment until after he had achieved his final victory.

Riding the Pegasus down to the summit, he took a seat in the throne his father had occupied for centuries. He could sense his forces now creating garrisons and strongholds within Mount Olympus, turning it into the ultimate fortress from which to guide this war. However, he had no intention of enjoying his new domain. There were still more battles to be fought.

_‘That actually went better than I had hoped. I expected Zeus to level half of Olympus in resisting me. Guess I overestimated him for once. Now comes the riskier part of my battle plan. If Persephone and Apollo know what’s good for them, they’ll have already succeeded.’_

* * *

**The Underworld – Hades’ Palace**

“Persephone!” yelled Hades as he stormed through his palace. “It’s time you cease your endless lament and make yourself useful. War has descended upon Olympus. And for once, my sniveling brother might actually lose.”

The King of the Underworld didn’t get an immediate response from his queen, which was to be expected. Persephone might have had the beauty to sway the hearts of gods, but she was painfully inept when it came to dealing with crisis. Hades could ill-afford ineptitude at this point. He suspected that a day would come when Zeus’ arrogance finally caught up with him, but he never imagined it would unfold like this.

He had just arrived at his palace, having convinced his brother to let him secure the Underworld. He could already sense hordes of monsters traveling down the River Styx, making their way to his palace. He had every intention of keeping it secured, even if it meant letting Olympus burn. The Underworld might have been a desolate kingdom, but it was still his kingdom.

“Persephone, you had better not be under your bed crying again!” said Hades in a louder, more forceful voice. “I need you to secure the garrisons here the palace while I lead my undead army to the shores of the River Styx. If you know what’s good for you, you’ve already started. I’d rather not get your mother involved when the foundations of Olympus are crumbling.”

Usually the mention of her mother was enough to get a response from his queen. Her desire to see her mother again was still his most important leverage over her. However, this time it didn’t work. He still only heard silence as he rushed to his throne room.

“You’re silence is starting to _annoy_ me,” Hades called out. “You are my wife and my queen. I demand that you respond this…”

The King of the Underworld stopped the moment he burst through the doors. In his throne room, he saw Persephone sitting in front of his throne on her knees. She was wearing her most elegant attire that she usually reserved for when she visited her mother. It looked like she was praying, which was something neither she nor anyone else in the Underworld usually did.

“What are you doing in my throne room? Did you not hear my command?” he demanded.

“Yes, dear husband. I heard your command loud and clear,” she replied, not even turning around to face him.

“Then you had best obey it. I’m in no mood for your insipid crying. The gods are in the midst of the greatest crisis since our war with the titans!”

“There’s no need to raise your voice with me this time, Lord Hades. For once, I’m not crying.”

It caught Hades by surprise, which was no easy feat in and of itself. In his rush to prepare his domain for battle, he didn’t notice a major difference in his queen’s demeanor. She wasn’t weeping. She wasn’t trembling. She wasn’t acting anything like she usually did when she stayed within the Underworld. It drew the King of the Underworld’s suspicion at a time when he could not afford distractions.

With growing frustration, Hades stormed over to his troublesome queen. As he got close, he noticed she was clutching something in her hands. It must have been important because she held onto it as if it were of great value. He began to reach for her when she opened her hands and revealed what it was. As soon as Hades saw it, he froze where he stood.

“Is that…no, it can’t be. You wouldn’t dare!” he roared.

“A beautiful woman in a loveless marriage tends to do a lot of things she wouldn’t dare,” said Persephone.

She made sure he got a good look at it so that there was no room for doubt. It was a single broken chain link, but it came from no ordinary chain. The blackish metal and the shadowy energy radiating from it could only have come from the Tomb of Erebus, a place that was supposed to be secure even from the gods. It was the last thing he or any of the gods wanted to see right now, the cage of a titan being weakened. This cage could only be affected or even accessed by a select few. The Queen of the Underworld was one of them.

“The seal on the Tomb of Erebus – you’ve been tampering with it?” said Hades in a mix of disbelief and outrage.

“Amongst other things,” she said cryptically.

“That’s _impossible_. I wouldn’t allow it!”

“That would just make you another foolish man who thought he could control his woman.”

“Whatever you think you’ll accomplish by releasing Erebus, it won’t work!” barked Hades. “It won’t return you to your mother. It won’t release you from your curse. It’ll only destroy everything and everyone you hold dear!”

“It’ll do more than you think. And even if it doesn’t, do you really think destruction scares me after spending centuries in the Underworld at your side? As far as I’m concerned, I should’ve done something like this long ago.”

Now Hades was beyond furious. Of all the times for his wife to go mad with defiance, this was by far the worst. He sensed over the centuries how much she had come to despise living in the Underworld and being his wife. He thought her love for her mother was enough to control her. Now, in hearing her cold voice that was devoid of her usual sorrow, he realized just how much she deceived him. As King of the Underworld, he could not let this stand.

“Insubordinate wench!” he shouted. “You are still my wife. I can still make you dread a fate _far_ worse than destruction.”

Hades prepared to subdue his wife and make her regret ever contemplating such defiance. But just as he was about to reach her, a swirl of purplish energy formed within the throne room. It stunned him, but Persephone didn’t even flinch.

While Hades turned around and watched the purplish energy gather in front of him, Persephone finally rose up. Within seconds, the energy formed a large purplish gate right in front of Hades. It started drawing him in like the hard current of a river. He instinctively fought it, but Persephone had no intention of letting him win that fight.

“What is this? Another attempt to escape your king’s wrath?” yelled Hades.

“No. Not my king’s wrath. Just the fate he trapped me in,” said Persephone.

Then, in an act once thought to be unconscionable in the realm of the Underworld, she struck Hades to shove him into the portal. As he fell in, he let out an angry roar that echoed throughout the palace and beyond. Persephone could actually feel the souls of the dead tremble at the feeling of their king just vanishing from his domain. It was so satisfying that Persephone did something she never thought she would do again. She smiled.

“So that’s what it feels like to defy fate. I like it!” she said curtly.

She continued staring at the glowing portal while still clutching the broken chain link from the Tomb of Erebus. She could already feel her mother scolding her for doing this. She might even be more upset with her than Hades at the moment. But that didn’t matter. She was freeing herself from the shackles of her fate. If that meant participating in a plan to release a titan, then so be it.

The portal flickered and pulsated erratically for a moment, no doubt because of Hades and the other gods resisting their little trip into the Oblivion Prison. Then it shifted, taking on a wider, less volatile shape. It soon revealed it revealing a gateway to a different destination. From this new gate, a familiar figure emerged and Persephone’s smile quickly faded.

“You cut it rather close, Apollo,” said Persephone to greet her fellow god.

“You make it sound like opening portals into our realm with mortal technology is easy,” said Apollo in a humored tone.

“Like you would ever allow yourself to work too hard to accomplish something,” she scoffed.

“Go ahead. Belittle the one who helped you finally smite your husband in ways you’ve only fantasized about.”

“Believe me, my fantasies about smiting my husband are _far_ more elaborate. But I’ll gladly accept this, provided you and Ares continue to deliver.”

Apollo grinned wryly. He could always count on a desperately miserable spouse to be so useful. Enlisting the aid of Persephone was inherently risky, but her desire to escape her fate did plenty to mitigate that risk. Now it was poised to pay off in a big way.

Persephone still made it clear that she didn’t trust Apollo, even after what he just helped her accomplish. He had too long a history of deceit to believe he would deliver on everything else he promised. Right now, her most important asset was her ability to access the Tomb of Erebus. He still needed her for that and so did Ares. That tomb was the key to everything at this point. The power it contained promised to reshape the realm of the gods, mortals, and so much more.

“In that case I won’t bore you with other lurid fantasies…unless you want me to, of course,” said Apollo.

“You’re already reminding me way too much of my husband,” said Persephone in bemusement.

“Don’t forget him too quickly. I just received word from Ares that he has successfully contained the gods in the Oblivion Prison. As promised, your mother is among them. And no, she was not harmed during the siege.”

To further alleviate her concerns, Apollo manipulated the portal so that it showed the cells in the Oblivion Prison. Sure enough, Demeter was in one of them. She was trapped and not very comfortable from the looks of it, but she was otherwise unharmed. Persephone tried not to react too strongly to seeing her, but it showed she still her mother was still very important to her.

“I wouldn’t recommend you visit her right now. She and the rest of the gods aren’t exactly in a good mood at the moment,” said Apollo.

“I wasn’t planning to…not until this is over,” said Persephone strongly.

“While I can’t guarantee she’ll appreciate the role you’ve played, I’ll still make sure you get your chance,” he told her. “With Olympus and the gods secure, Ares is ready for the next phase of his battle plan. As we speak, the Amazons and the Annihilator armor are breaking down the gates to the Tomb of Erebus as only they can. However, the seal containing him…”

His words trailed off, allowing Persephone to fill in the details. She still understood her role and all the danger that came with it.

“I know. That’s where I come in,” said Persephone. “I can still access the lock, but I cannot break it. A feat such as that is beyond even Zeus’ power.”

“You need only grant us access. We already have a means of breaking it.”

“I still doubt whether that’s even possible, but I’ll entertain your bravado. Even if it fails, it’ll at least be entertaining.”

“It won’t fail. That you can be sure of,” said Apollo strongly.

“You sound awfully confident for someone attempting a feat that Zeus himself made certain was impossible. The means of unleashing a power like this are not to be taken lightly.”

“I agree and so does Ares. That’s why we intend to rely on cunning instead of power,” he said, “Because when it comes to acquiring the necessary means, the most effective strategy is to have it come to you.”

Apollo altered the portal again to change the view. This time it revealed two images, one from the mortal world and from Tartarus. The first showed Diana, having made her way into Tartarus in search of her sisters. She was on her way towards Olympus, fighting through plenty of monsters and undead soldiers along the way. The second showed Superman, having just left London and now making his way to Themyscira. If he had any means of coming to Diana’s aid, he would be arriving soon.

They couldn’t possibly understand what they were getting into. They had already walked into the elaborate trap that had been set into motion months ago. And they only made it infinitely harder on themselves by being foolish enough to fall in love with each other.

* * *

**Up next: Heart Shaped Box**


	15. Heart Shaped Box

**Strangers In Paradise**   
**Chapter 15: Heart Shaped Box**

* * *

**Oblivion Prison**

“How does it feel, father?” taunted a victorious God of War. “Is it as tortuous for you as it was for me? I imagine it’s infinitely worse for the former King of Olympus.”

Zeus remained silent, refusing to give his son the satisfaction of a response. Now trapped in a special cell specifically designed to imprison gods like himself, the King of the Gods had been reduced to an animal in a cage. He and every other Olympian now floated in the endless abyss of the Oblivion Prison, unable to wield any power or exercise any authority. It was the worst kind of torment for any god, but that wasn’t enough for Ares. He just had to shove it in his face.

“I’ll take your silence as a telling hint,” he said. “You never were good with words. You let your actions and authority do most of the talking. Take that away and you’re nothing but a glorified statute. Soon, you’ll be nothing but a monument to a bygone era.”

Ares leered at his unflinching father, grinning smugly with every word. Zeus just continued frowning at him, his arms folded in anger as he stood behind a special barrier that kept him from unleashing the full wrath of Olympus on him. After securing every other god in the Oblivion Prison, the God of War singled him out for additional boasting. He stood mere inches from the barrier so his father could see what true triumph looked like.

It was a moment the former King of Olympus should’ve seen coming. He was as mad at himself as he was with Ares. He shouldn’t have been so merciful with his son when he stole the Dagger of Deimos, but he also should’ve prepared for this. He had been so consumed with containing the chaos in Tartarus that he didn’t see the greater threats emerging within his own domain. Had this occurred at a time when mortals still worshipped him, Ares never would’ve gotten this far. It was sobering in that it revealed how the passing centuries had affected him. It also reminded him how cruel and unoriginal the fates could be.

What Ares was doing was not dissimilar to what he did to his own father, Cronus. The entire war with the titans was sparked by conflicts between father and son. That conflict has now manifested in a new form with Ares, but unlike the war with the titans, the scale of this war would go far beyond the realm of gods. It would consume both Olympus and the mortal world, leaving little untouched. Nothing less would satisfy the God of War.

Despite his father’s harsh gaze and heavy silence, Ares remained very satisfied with what he accomplished thus far. By keeping Zeus and his fellow gods imprisoned, they would bear witness to far greater accomplishments.

“I’m sure you’re probably curious about how I was able to exploit your ineptitude from a cell just like yours. I’d love to tell you just so you could scold me more, but I prefer to focus on future battles instead of past victories,” said Ares. “As I speak, my army is securing the Underworld. Once any lingering resistance is subdued, I’ll proceed to knock down another one of your monuments – the Tomb of Erebus.”

Zeus’ expression tensed with further disdain. His son’s reckless arrogance truly knew no bounds. Few words could’ve conveyed the outrage he felt for his son, but none would’ve made a difference.

“Yes, I know. That’s a bit of a sore subject for you,” said Ares curtly. “He’s the most dangerous titan for a reason. He embodies and spreads the very chaos the gods sought to contain. But unlike the others, you couldn’t defeat him. Maybe you could’ve done more, but you chose not to. You just imprisoned him. Sure, that would doom the gods to an endless and futile struggle against the forces of chaos, but that didn’t bother you, did it?”

The God of War leaned in closer, scrutinizing his father’s stern. This was where the conflict with his father became less about battles and more about the order the gods preserved.

“Maybe I’m asking the wrong question,” he went on in a more serious tone. “Did you even bother to contemplate a different approach? Did you see this endless struggle as a means of maintaining your power? I certainly wouldn’t put it past you. After all, that is all you’ve ever seemed to care about – maintaining your power and imposing it on others.”

Zeus gave him a different look. This time it was one of bemusement. Ares just sneered and shook his head.

“I know what you’re thinking. You’re saying I’m guilty of the exact same thing. You’re partially right. Where we differ is our ability to see the bigger picture – to want to _win_ the war and not just win battles. Unlike you, I’m willing to go farther and think bigger than any god has ever dared.”

Now he wasn’t just boasting. Ares was attacking the very principles on which Zeus built his order. His father had to know on some levels that those principles were doomed to fail. He was just the one capable of exposing their shortcomings.

“This is where I’m actually saddened,” said Ares, showing only mild distraught. “I was willing to go this far without going through _you_ , father. For centuries, my loyalty to you was true. I never planned or even contemplated undermining your rule. I sought to serve my father and my fellow gods.”

Zeus was surprised by this admission. He didn’t doubt for a second that it was only partially sincere at best, but it was still a startling admission from the God of War.

“Make no mistake. I’m not you and you’re not Cronus. I wanted to do more than preserve this order. I wanted to improve it. And so long as titans like Erebus exist, that cannot happen. I came to you with so many plans, but you rejected them all. However, it was the last plan you rejected that destroyed my hope for your rule. I know I should’ve expected it because of who it involved, but that didn’t make it any less disheartening.”

The mention of this plan caused Zeus to shift once more. Over the centuries, Ares had brought forth many such plans of varying levels of ambition. He rejected them all for good reasons, but the one that upset him most was might have been the one that led him to this point.

“Diana,” said Zeus, finally breaking his silence.

“I had a feeling that would rouse your tongue,” said Ares with a half-grin. “She was destined to be at the center of this conflict. From the moment she was born, I sensed in her _immense_ potential. Had you heeded my request to make her my pupil, I would’ve turned her into the ultimate warrior. Entire armies would’ve surrendered at the mere sight of here. Every creature in Tartarus would’ve fled in terror at the mere mention of their name. Titans like Erebus would’ve fallen in defeat, never threaten gods or mortals again.”

He presented such an appealing scenario. Zeus could tell he had envisioned it in great detail, but he could also tell that some of those details were more disturbing than he was willing to reveal. Even if he did have Olympus’ best interest at heart, his own interests always took priority.

“I don’t regret my decision,” said Zeus sternly.

“Therein lies the problem, father. You refuse to question yourself or your methods,” said the God of War. “That’s what led me to go behind your back in ways I once never dared. That’s why I stole the Dagger of Deimos and attempted to seek a new champion.”

“You mean the mortal called Superman that once visited Themyscira,” said Zeus.

“Would it have not been fitting? Would fate have even put him there if he weren’t destined for something greater? If I couldn’t use Diana, I could at least prove that the concept was viable.”

“Yet that plan still failed,” he pointed out.

“Only because _you_ refused to support it,” retorted Ares. “All of this – the constant threats to Olympus and the escalating threats in the mortal world – it could’ve been an afterthought. I had the power and the will. It would’ve served you, Olympus…everybody!”

The God of War had never talked down to his father like this. He had never been in a position where Zeus couldn’t just silence him with his authority. It allowed him to pin the blame for the current state of Olympus all on him. He didn’t expect it to change Zeus’ mind about the decisions he made, but it made clear that those decision made this war necessary.

“You just had to shrug it off. You just can’t think beyond your own stubborn arrogance, can you?” he continued, his tone once again filled with smug bitterness. “It’s always so damn black and white with you. It has to be in line with your will or it’s inherently wrong. Is that not the extent of your judgment?”

“And yours is any different?”

“If it weren’t, then you wouldn’t be in one piece right now. Trust me when I say that if I were to approach this like my typical battle plans, you and every other god on Olympus wouldn’t have been granted such mercy.”

“Are you expecting me to be grateful?” scoffed Zeus.

“Ha! Gratitude is beyond even your power, Father,” quipped Ares. “That’s why I intend to make a much greater impression. The other gods might not appreciate it, but I know you will be especially intrigued.”

Ares finally stepped back from the floating cell and formed another portal using the same power he used to subdue the gods. The portal formed right next to him in a swirl of purplish energy. As it came together, it revealed events unfolding just outside of Olympus.

Despite having just secured the defenses throughout the mountain, Ares’ army of monsters and undead soldiers faced a daunting new threat. Diana, who was supposed to be exiled from Themyscira and the domain of the gods, was on a warpath towards the summit of Olympus. She fought with a tenacity worthy of a proud Amazon, tearing through hordes of harpies, cyclopes, and undead. She didn’t even bother using a sword or a shield. She just punched her way through, armed only with her magic lasso and magic bracelets. It was crude, but effective. It would only be a matter of time before she reached her destination.

Seeing her, who was once his darkest yet proudest secret, fight so hard struck the former King of Olympus in an unexpected way. For once, his angry expression faltered. At that moment, Zeus became a father watching his daughter enter a danger that she did not understand.

“Is this how you intend to punish me, Ares? Making me watch while you denigrate my daughter just as you have denigrated everything I hold dear?” asked Zeus angrily.

“Dear Father, you make it sound as though I’ve no reverence for family – even if that family is another illegitimate bastard,” said Ares snidely.

“You’re going to regret this. Mark my words!”

“You’ve nobody to blame but yourself. You put her in this position when you belittled my loyalty. Her feeble heart and warrior pride did the rest. Now she’s going to be the spark that ignites my new war. It didn’t have to be this way, but you made it necessary.”

Zeus closed his eyes and held his head low, ashamed and appalled that his own son had fallen this far. He was really willing to go through with this. He was willing to unleash the destructive power of Erebus just to prove that he could bring order better than his father. It was petty and pathetic, qualities that often went hand-in-hand with renegade gods. This was one instance where one act of defiance could finally bring the reign of the Olympians to an end.

But as Zeus took in everything his son had just told him and the imagery of Diana fighting his way through Olympus, his demeanor shifted again. Much to the surprise and chagrin of his son, he started laughing.

“I was expecting a more profane response than this,” said Ares in annoyance. “You dare to find humor in my war?”

“No Ares. It’s not your war I find so humorous. It’s your assumption that you can subdue Diana,” said Zeus, still shaking his head in bemusement.

“I defeated you _and_ the entire pantheon of Olympus. You think I’m not equipped to deal with one Amazon exile?”

“Oh you might think you’re equipped, but you grossly underestimate her ability for defiance.”

“Why? Is it because she’s your daughter?” scoffed Ares.

“No. It’s because she’s capable of fighting on a level that you can never match – one not even a god can match. Mark my words, Ares. Bringing her into your war will lead to your downfall.”

He sounded pretty confident for a god that had been humiliated and defeated. When his laughter subsided, Zeus cast him one of those harsh glares that he always gave when one of his children did something foolish. It annoyed Ares to no end, but he didn’t waste time arguing with his father. He intended to prove to him and every other god on Olympus that he could win this war. Diana was nothing more than a pawn. He had taken all the necessary precautions. There was no way the coming battle would end in anything other than her defeat and his ultimate triumph.

* * *

**New Mexico – Helion Solar Test Range**

“The things I do for friends and their girlfriends,” sighed Lois Lane as she finished her second cup of coffee.

There was a reason why Lois avoided getting too deep into debt when it came to favors. It often led to her getting caught up in affairs she neither understood nor had any business being part of. Clark Kent was among the few she didn’t mind indebting herself to, mostly because he rarely asked for anything in return. That’s part of what made him such a decent man. However, one of Clark’s more annoying qualities involved his ability to cross paths with the wrong people.

As soon as Clark left her apartment, Lois went about delivering on her promise. That involved going over some of the notes on Helion Solar he emailed her and calling in a few sources at wholly unreasonable hours of the night. They all told her a similar story. Helion was one of those companies that liked to keep a very low profile, but there were rumors that would’ve made a great news story if there had been any facts to back them up.

One in particular involved them conducting research of a very illegal kind at a former nuclear test site. Clark’s notes mentioned this site, but he never brought it up to Perry. He must have suspected that there was something deeper at work here. Had it been mentioned in print, it would’ve likely been lost. He understood, as did every competent reporter, that the dirty details of a story had a way of disappearing when they got printed prematurely. If anyone was going to uncover Helion Solar’s dirty secrets, then they would have to go beyond basic reporting.

This led Lois to jump on the first flight to New Mexico. However, just getting to this test range wasn’t as easy as cashing in her frequent flyer miles. She needed to get there covertly. That meant hopping aboard a chartered flight from a private airport that only a well-connected war correspondent could get her on. As it just so happened, she was dating just such a man. Jonathan Carroll had many qualities she loved. Chief among them was his ability to get into places few could and an inability to refuse a favor from his girlfriend.

“Helping a friend is hard enough. Needing another to get the job done doesn’t help. I don’t even want to think about how I’ll have to make this up to Jonathan,” sighed Lois as she closed her eyes and waited for the caffeine to kick in. “If we’re lucky, he’ll get some footage that’ll keep him from demanding a trip to a nude beach in the Bahamas.”

Lois sat back in the passenger’s seat in the rented car that she and Jonathan picked up shortly after their flight landed. She then spent the next two hours going over more of Clark’s notes about Helion Solar. He was extremely meticulous as always, but he was vague on what to expect.

They arrived at the site a couple hours before sunrise and it wasn’t the most hospitable location to say the least. The research facility itself was as heavily secure as she expected and then some. There were gates, walls, and sentries patrolling the whole facility. It had the kind of security that the White House would envy. The closest they could get was a small mountain overlooking the southernmost ridge. They parked the car near the peak. It was hardly ideal, but then again doing favors for a friend wasn’t supposed to be.

“Hey Lois! Open up,” said Jonathan, knocking on the car window and jolting Lois from her drowsy state. “I need some help out here _and_ another cup of coffee. You know I can only do so much for my girlfriend when I’m overworked, sleep-deprived, and thirsty.”

“No need to remind me. I wasn’t going to nod off on you,” assured Lois as she opened the door.

“I know you weren’t. It’s just a lot harder to stay energized when one of our quiet evenings together turns into overtime,” he said, not hiding his dismay over their sudden change of plans.

“Believe me, I’m as thrilled as you. I would _love_ the trade the last 12 hours for a couple of TV dinners, a movie, and a bottle of massage oil. But I promised Clark I would take care of this for him and that’s what I’m going to do.”

“You’re _way_ too good a friend, Lois,” sighed Jonathan as he reached for his coffee inside the car.

“I also owe him _way_ too many favors,” she added. “Besides, this could end up being one of those stories that’s worth the frustration.”

“Are you really trying to be optimistic this early in the morning?”

“I’m a reporter. I don’t do optimism. I just assume that any place with this much security has something to hide.”

The army brat in her was already forming connections. While Jonathan took a quick breather and drank his coffee, Lois made her way to the setup he had been working on for the past hour or so. It involved equipment Jonathan had used many times before in hot spots all over the world. It included a couple of highly sensitive cameras that could see in infrared, ultraviolet, and a few other parts of the spectrum that took a degree in physics to understand. It also included some sensitive detectors designed to pick up on certain energy spikes. If Clark’s notes were any indication, they would have plenty to detect.

Trusting that Jonathan had assembled the equipment and set up the generator, she turned on the sensors and powered up the laptop. This sort of gear was hard to come by and even harder to borrow. Jonathan had to pull more than a few strings to bring it with them. She didn’t bother asking what he had to do or who he had to beg. She just assumed she would have to make it up to him at some point. If this was as suspicious as she suspected, then they needed to gather more facts before they dug any deeper.

“Hang in there a little longer. We’re about to find out how much sleep we’ll be losing for the next day or so,” said Lois as she loaded a few programs on the laptop.

“What’s the worst case scenario? I need to know so I can adjust our coffee budget accordingly,” said Jonathan.

“I don’t want to say just yet, but expect a few adjustments,” she said as she turned on more sensors. “After reviewing Clark’s notes, I called an old friend of mine at the Wayne Enterprise Green Energy Initiative for a little intel on Helion. She didn’t know as much as I’d hoped, but she’s the one who told me about this cozy little facility.”

“It’s got to be more than a little _cozy_. This place is listed as an old military dump on the map and that’s why the locals stay away from it.”

“They’re misinformed, but not entirely wrong,” Lois went on. “This whole site was originally used for covert nuclear tests during the Cold War, namely the kind that certain treaties said they shouldn’t be doing. At one point, it became such a huge political thorn that the US military just outright abandoned it. Then Helion Solar came along and bought it from them. Near as I can tell, they got a bargain. The old men in uniforms were just too eager to get this place off their hands.”

“But why would a solar energy company want a place like this to begin with?” wondered Jonathan as he looked out at the site in the distance.

“I asked that same question too. That’s why I called another friend at Star Labs who has connections in the solar industry. He knows some people who did a little consulting with Helion. They claim this site is being used for some very dangerous (and probably illegal) experiments that mix solar energy with some exotic form of nuclear energy.”

“How exotic are we talking here?”

“I don’t know. Those are his words, not mine,” said Lois. “He got quiet real quick when I mentioned the story that the Planet had to retract. I don’t think he knows more than he told me, but I also think he suspects something that he’s too scared to investigated.”

Now Jonathan was started to get intrigued. Since he began dating Lois, he experienced some of the more subtle methods of reporting the news. Reporting from a war zone was pretty basic. He just followed the sound of bullets and mortars. Lois specialized in the stories about who pulled the strings of those firing those shots. Sometimes it put them in danger that matched most war zones, but that was part of what he found so compelling about her work and her.

“What about you? What do you suspect?” asked Jonathan.

“I have my theories,” said Lois as she let the programs run. “Most of them are probably dead wrong, but I’m okay with that. Being wrong in this case might only make this story even more…”

Lois stopped herself in mid-sentence when one of the sensors in the setup started blaring. The detectors hadn’t been online for more than a few minutes and already they were picking up something significant. She immediately cast aside some of her original theories and began a few additional tests.

“Whoa. I spoke even sooner than usual,” said Lois as her vision narrowed on the monitor.

“What is it?” asked Jonathan, setting his coffee aside and joining her near the setup.

“Well either you did a terrible job calibrating this thing or it’s picking up an energy spike that would give Einstein himself a seizure,” she said.

“I know how confident you are in my technical skills so go ahead and run some diagnostics while I check the cameras.”

She was already hard at work, making sure this wasn’t just an anomaly. As she ran the necessary programs, Jonathan rushed over to one of the large cameras pointing towards the center of the test range. He couldn’t see anything in the distance, but when he looked through the special lens he shared Lois’ reaction.

“Whoa. I think you can skip the diagnostics, Lois. I’m pretty sure the machine is working fine,” he said.

“That’s what I was afraid of,” said Lois. “Guess this officially means Clark’s gut instinct was spot on. I _really_ need to stop being so surprised at this point.”

Jonathan didn’t know Clark’s instincts as well as Lois, but he knew a bigger story when he saw it. In this case, he saw what appeared to be plumes of radiation shooting up from the central test area. It couldn’t be seen with the naked eye, but it was clearly visible through these special cameras. What made it even more disturbing was that the plume was actually growing, expanding to a point where it reached the clouds above.

As this radiation grew, it showed on the detectors that Lois was monitoring. More and more sensors went off. Some even gave warning signs that the energy levels were too high for them to make sense of. Not being a technical expert, Lois let the computer sift through the data. While it was processing, she grabbed a pair of powerful binoculars from nearby and tried to get a better look at the test range.

“There’s no way this place is just testing new solar cells. Radiation can’t be used to charge a cell phone,” said Lois as she peered through the binoculars.

“So what could they be working on? Why would a solar company even be interested in experiments like this?” asked Jonathan as he began recording some of the readings.

“I don’t know and for once, I don’t have any crazy theories.”

Lois struggled to make more connections. As she looked out over the site, she adjusted the binoculars to utilize night vision. The sun wouldn’t be rising for another couple hours or so and by then, everything worth seeing would be hidden from view. This might be their only chance to get a glimpse of something worth seeing.

_‘What did you stumble into, Smallville? I’m usually the one that gets herself caught up in dangerous stories. You can’t be stealing my thunder like this. A solar power company conducting high energy experiments in a way that’s too secret to be legal – what does it mean? What am I missing that’ll make this a worthwhile story?’_

She went over a number of possibilities in her mind. None of them made enough sense to run with. She just kept watching through the binoculars, looking for anything to explain the data. The site was clearly very active. All the gates were heavily manned. There were dozens of people running around, many while wearing protective uniforms. Something big was unfolding in this place and based on the readings, it was already underway. Whatever was generating those readings had to be concealed either underground or in one of the many hangers on the base.

While Lois studied some of the hangers, she noticed some new activity near one of the gates. A large convoy of trucks had just arrived along with a few SUVs. They passed right through the checkpoints and pulled up to one particular hanger located on the west side of the test range. When one of the SUVs opened, she saw a neatly dressed man in an Italian suit step out. A woman wearing what looked like a robe and a headdress followed. She didn’t recognize the woman, but she did recognize the man.

“Hey Jonathan, get a shot of the hanger near the west gate. I think the guest of honor just arrived and he brought a date,” said Lois.

“And now we’re officially paparazzi? This just keeps getting better and better,” commented Jonathan as he adjusted one of the cameras.

“Don’t feel too bad about snooping on this guy. That’s Alfanso Viniccilli, the charismatic yet reclusive CEO of Helion Solar. If he’s here at this hour, then there’s definitely something big going down.”

“What about the woman? Do you recognize her?” asked Jonathan.

“Not sure,” she said. “She could be his wife, his mistress, his daughter – anything is possible with guys like this. I’ve never met a man who wears an Armani suit to an old military base without causing trouble.”

Lois kept her eyes on the man. She watched him bark orders to some of men nearby, who all complied immediately. The woman looked somewhat anxious though. She kept hugging her shoulders and looking around, as though she expected someone to be spying on her in a place like this at an hour like this. The man had to take her aside to calm her down. In doing so, he revealed something that further defied explanation.

“Um…did you just see that, Lois?” asked Jonathan, who had been observing him through his camera as well.

“I saw it. And before you ask – no, I didn’t spike our coffee,” she said.

For a moment, they were speechless. For a brief instant, the man’s head and eyes flashed brightly. Had they not been using night-vision, they never would’ve seen it. For a moment, they flashed with a kind of light that caused some errors in their equipment. Nobody else on the test range saw it. If they did, they made themselves forget it. The man might not have meant to show it, but he was clearly agitated with the woman and it showed in unexpected ways.

In covering Superman, Lois had seen more than their share of superhuman manifestations. This was not the most spectacular, but it was definitely telling. She still couldn’t make any connections, but it did add a new dimension to this story.

“You ever meet a man in an Armani suit who did _that_?” asked Jonathan.

“Not that I recall,” she said.

“He also looks tense. Everybody looks tense. Either somebody screwed up or they’re behind schedule. It might even be both,” he speculated.

As they continued to watch, another detector went off from the setup. Lois briefly set aside her binoculars and checked the readings on the laptop. What she saw finally helped her make a few disturbing connections.

“Well this is way too disturbing to be coincidence,” said Lois as she watched some of the charts. “Now the sensors are picking huge spikes in solar radiation.”

“At this hour?” questioned Jonathan. “How is that even possible?”

“I don’t know, but it’s not coming from the sky. Some of it’s coming from some of the hangers, but a lot of it is coming from underground. I’m no physicist, but I’m pretty sure this kind of solar radiation shouldn’t be possible outside a nuclear reactor or the sun.”

“That can’t be safe, even in a place like this.”

“It gets worse,” said Lois with more dread.

“Is that supposed to surprise me?” he scoffed.

“Well this might,” she said as she singled out a few bits of data. “The solar radiation is coming in at varying wavelengths. One is just basic yellow sunlight. The other is red sunlight. Then there’s this other wavelength I can’t even begin to make sense of and I’m not sure I want to. But if we’re talking yellow and red sunlight, then I think it’s we both know who this might affect.”

At this point, Jonathan started filling in the blanks as well. Among the many well-known facts about Superman was that his powers came from the sun. But another lesser known fact was that the light of a red sun drained him of his powers. For all he knew, this other wavelength Lois described would do something even worse. Somebody who went through the trouble of separating the two had to know this on some level. Any time Superman got involved, it became personal for Lois and dangerous for many others.

With these dangers in mind, Jonathan looked back through one of the other cameras that could see the energy plume. At this point, it had grown to a level where it took on a new shape. It was now swirling like a solar flare from the sun, arching over the site and focusing on a few key areas. It was getting pretty volatile and with the sun rising soon, it could only get worse. As he contemplated the possibilities, he looked back towards Lois.

“You’ve got that look in your eyes again, Lois. I know what you’re thinking,” said Jonathan, already shaking his head.

“Good. Then that means we can skip the argument I know you want to have,” said Lois as she closed the laptop.

“This always happens when Superman becomes a factor. You always have to be at ground zero when the worst part of the storm hits. It doesn’t matter how risky or dangerous it is. You can’t tear yourself away from it. You still see yourself as the only one who can tell the story that Superman wants told.”

Lois didn’t respond at first. She just grinned towards him and began packing up the equipment. He knew her well enough at this point to understand how she approached issues involving Superman. It used to evoke jealousy, her going out of her way for Superman like this. Now he understood it was a responsibility she took upon herself. Somebody had to be that human connection between Superman and the rest of the world. However, part of being that connection involved being in the line of fire when the danger escalated.

“Well? Are you going to help or what?” asked Lois, still giving him that coy look.

“You’ve already come up with an incredibly risky way to get into that base, haven’t you?” said Jonathan, shaking his head.

“The sooner you help me pack this stuff up, the sooner I can fill you in.”

“You’re lucky I’m so madly in love with you because I just know this is going to get much crazier before all it said and done.”

“Admit it. It’s because things get so crazy that you fell madly in love with me in the first place.”

Jonathan just grinned and sighed. He knew from the beginning that dating Lois Lane would be an adventure. It still shocked him just how _adventurous_ it got at times.

“I’ll just shut up for now and set the cameras to auto-record,” he said. “I’m not even going to speculate how crazy this is going to get. I’m just going to assume it’s way worse than we think.”

* * *

**Mount Olympus**

“OUT OF MY WAY!” yelled a determined woman in a voice that echoed throughout the whole of Olympus.

Wonder Woman was on a warpath like no other. The moment she entered the Gates of Tartarus, she had one mission in mind. She was going to get to Olympus, free her sisters, save her mother, and make Ares pay for what he did. It didn’t matter how big an army he threw at her. She was going to get to him at all cost.

Hundreds of undead soldiers attempted to slow her down. She showed no mercy in fighting through them. As soon as she reached the base of Olympus, they attempted to swarm her. She punched and kicked her way through the initial onslaught, knocking their heads clear off in some cases. Then their sheer numbers threatened to bury her, she summoned a level of strength that rivaled Atlas himself and knocked them off with relentless force. They attempted to claw, swipe, and bite her every step of the way. This only made her more determined.

“Ares! I know you can hear me!” she shouted up at the mountain. “I’m coming for you. I don’t care how many sisters or gods have fallen. You _will_ answer for what you’ve done!”

The exiled princess didn’t dare slow down. Getting through the first parts of Tartarus had been the easy part. Navigating its terrors to reach Olympus proved far more difficult. The realm of the gods had many levels. Tartarus was just part of it and Olympus was the most fortified. There was always plenty of chaos, but Wonder Woman noticed early on that this chaos took a very different form compared to what she and her sisters battled for so many years.

The various creatures and undead were not scattered about, randomly attacking and destroying anything they came across. They were more organized, as though they were being controlled. This wasn’t supposed to be possible, even by the gods. The forces involved were either dangerous or forbidden. She could actually sense the unstable energy throughout the realm as she flew through. She also noticed how it affected the creatures that opposed her. They weren’t just stronger than usual. They were employing tactics of a sort.

For some reason, these tactics often involved retreating towards Olympus as Wonder Woman drew closer. They could’ve easily overwhelmed her or at least slowed her down before she reached the base of Olympus, but they didn’t. They essentially let her reach this most sacred of sites within the realm of the gods.

It raised more than a few concerns in the back of her mind, but she couldn’t afford to overthink at this point. She had to keep fighting.

“Gods…I know you cannot hear my prayers now, but I still pray to you,” said Wonder Woman as she watched more creatures converge on her location. “Please…give me the strength to exact justice!”

The next wave of creatures pouring out from Olympus included more undead soldiers, a swarm of harpies, a hoard of gorgons, and a stampede of minotaurs. Clenching her fist, Wonder Woman took to the air and flew right into the brunt of the attack, striking the first harpies and undead soldiers that she encountered. She pushed right through them like a speeding ram, disrupting the minotaur stampede and knocking away more undead soldiers in the process. Many attempted to reinforce the gates at the base of the mountain to deny her entry. She had no intention of taking that route anyways.

Once she got near the gate, the minotaurs and undead soldiers tried to swarm her again. They all gathered around and tried to pile on. The undead soldiers clawed her at her skin while the minotaurs tried to stomp on her head. She was able to shove them off and endure the beating. Then a couple of gorgons slithered around and encased her in their serpentine grasp. They also tried to get her to look them in the eyes so as to turn her into stone like Medusa.

 _“Submit! For Lord Ares!”_ they hissed.

“Never!” exclaimed Wonder Woman.

With another burst of strength, she broke the grip of the two gorgons. She then grabbed both of them by the neck and smashed their heads together, rendering them unconscious and seriously wounded. Another attack ensued, but she fought them off too. More and more creatures poured out from the main gates for reinforcement, including a hulking cyclops armed with a club. This actually gave Wonder Woman the opportunity she had been waiting for.

“Finally! An actual challenge,” she said.

The cyclops let out menacing roar, swinging its oversized club wildly and knocking out a number of undead soldiers along the way. When it finally reached Wonder Woman, it attempted to smash her head on. She evaded it, taking out a few more undead soldiers in the process. While the cyclops attempted to regroup, she turned her attention to one of the minotaurs.

Evading more attacks by the undead, she charged towards the minotaur full speed. The angry beast charged back, armed with an oversized spear. She waited until it got close enough before narrowly avoiding the spear, letting it graze her hair in the process. While in mid-air, she used her magic lasso to latch onto the neck of the minotaur. The creature let out a choking gasp, dropping its spear in the process. Wonder Woman then landed right on its back and, with a firm tug of her lasso, guided the raging beast right towards the cyclops.

The rampaging creature collided with the hulking beast just as it was about to swing its club again, disarming and disorienting it just long enough to make her move. After giving the minotaur a hard kick to the head to knock it out, she took to the air again and changed her strategy.

“As much as I would love to defeat every one of you, I don’t have time for this,” she said strongly.

Her lasso still in hand, Wonder Woman threw it so it wrapped around the hulking cyclops at the waist. It attempted to pull back at first, but she made sure it didn’t get the chance. Summoning her strength again, she took to the air once more and flew up over the fortified gates. The creature proved heavier than she expected, causing strain that might have slowed her down under different circumstances. She didn’t let that happen this time.

As soon as she was airborne, harpies and winged creatures above swarmed her. They formed a massive screeching army wall around much of the mountain, making it next to impossible for her to get through. This forced her to stay low initially, but now she had a chance to make an opening. Despite her muscles being strained, Wonder Woman picked up more speed. She could still feel the angry cyclops tugging at her lasso, attempting to climb up and attack her. At one point she could smell the creature’s breath. That’s when she made her next move.

“You mindless beasts might as well be good for something,” she grunted.

The harpies and winged demons were already set to swarm her. Wonder Woman waited until she got close enough before slowing down and spinning the bound creature in her lasso around at high speeds. She spun it so fast that she created heavy gusts of wind that disrupted the incoming creatures. And once she built up enough velocity, she recalled her lasso to let the creature go.

As soon as she released it, the howling beast flew right towards the side of the mountain at high speeds. It plowed through the cloud of winged creatures like a boulder until it struck the rocky walls of Olympus. It hit with such force that it formed a sizable hole that wasn’t fortified like the rest of the gates. Seeing this as her opening, Wonder Woman flew towards the hole at high speeds. A few creatures tried to obstruct her path. She knocked them away with ease, her ears ringing with their deafening screeches every step of the way.

The moment she made it into the opening, she hit the roof over her with enough force to cause part of the structure to collapse. This effectively sealed the hole she just entered from the creatures. Now she was within the inner sanctums of Olympus and one step closer to Ares.

“That was too hard in some ways – too easy in others,” said Wonder Woman while attempting to catch her breath. “Ares is throwing all these creatures at me, but they’re holding back. I can tell.”

The determined warrior in her gave way to experienced Amazon for a moment. She had experienced enough combat as both an Amazon and as Wonder Woman to recognize strategy when she saw it. She should expect nothing less from the God of War. Just throwing armies of monsters at her and expecting that to subdue her just wasn’t cunning enough. He had to have something else in mind.

“You want me to confront you. Don’t you, Ares?” said Wonder Woman, knowing the God of War was listening. “You’ll your wish soon enough. I’ll make sure you regret it!”

She should’ve rested a bit longer. Fighting through Tartarus and the gates of Olympus was taxing, even for her. But Wonder Woman would not grant herself such mercy. Every moment she spent resting was another moment Ares tightened his grip on her mother and her sisters. She could not let that stand. She needed to push forward.

Despite plenty of soreness, she took to the air again and flew through the vast corridors of Olympus. Amazons were rarely allowed to visit Olympus and when they did, they were only allowed to see a fraction of its magnificent structure. It had so many vast halls and spacious domains. Some even acted as gateways to realms within this realm, allowing the gods the various feats that made them gods. Wonder Woman had no intention of exploring every area of this domain. She already had a good feeling about where Ares was hiding. Being the ambitious war monger he was, he would only accept Zeus’ throne room as his base and that happened to be one area that most Amazons knew very well.

As Wonder Woman navigated through the various sanctums of the mountain, she encountered more of Ares’ forces. They consisted mostly of trolls, undead soldiers, harpies, and a few random monsters. She made quick work of all of them, deflecting attacks from those that tried to knock her off course and punching her way through those that stood in her way. They were annoying, but hardly overwhelming. That didn’t dampen her determination, but it did give her other reasons to be concerned.

_‘These beasts aren’t even trying to defeat me. They’re just frustrating me. Ares wants to stoke my anger. He wants me to be more emotional and upset than I already am. Most Amazons would. I can’t play into his hands. The more emotional I get, the more likely I am to make mistakes. Just remember what you’ve learned from fighting alongside Kal as Wonder Woman. Don’t try to suppress your passions. Channel them.’_

This proved more challenging than usual. Thoughts of her mother, her sister, and the gods she once worshipped kept tempting her to fight with blind rage. That was exactly what Ares wanted. The undead guarding one of the critical gateways separating the lower sanctums from the summit made it even harder. They all gathered around armed with spears and bows, unleashing a barrage that forced Wonder Woman to defend herself with her bracelets. In doing so, she had to further temper her passions. This caused her thoughts to drift back towards her lover.

_‘Kal…I can’t forget about you either. I made you a part of this when you didn’t have to. I trusted you to help me because I don’t trust myself to outwit the God of War. Alone, we might stand only a slight chance of surviving a battle with Ares. But together, we can do so much more. We’ll have to – for each other and for the world as we know it.’_

Without letting her passions falter, Wonder Woman braved more incoming spears and arrows to make it through the gateway. She made sure she took down a good chunk of the undead along the way, hitting various parts of the supporting structures and allowing them to collapse. The remaining creatures kept trying to shoot more arrows at her, but they weren’t enough to hold her back.

As she ascended through the upper atrium of Olympus, her thoughts lingered on Kal-El and the role he now played in this. In fighting all these monstrosities, the full weight of her choices caught up with her. By trusting Kal to take part in this battle, she was trusting him on a level she had never even trusted her sisters. It was a lot to ask of him and herself. Their relationship had progressed so quickly. It had to for reasons beyond their control. But if they made it through this, it would grant them something more precious than progress.

_‘I don’t know if I’m ready for this, Kal. I know you think you are, but you worry just as I do where this will lead us. You’ve shared so much of your world with me. Now I have to share mine with you and that world might end up destroying us both. But if it doesn’t and our love endures…’_

Wonder Woman had to stop herself from entertaining such thoughts. It would only distract her from the task at hand. No matter how daunting or appealing those possibilities might be, she needed to stay focused.

She encountered more minor resistance as she reached the mid-point of the atrium. A few large harpies and some undead soldiers armed with bows kept trying to frustrate her, but Wonder Woman didn’t give them the satisfaction. She just kept evading and deflecting with her bracelets, her every thought now centered on finding Ares. She sensed he was close. The stench of all the blood that had been shed in his name filled the air.

The summit of Olympus was within her reach. She was about to make her final push to the top when she heard a distinct voice cry out from another area within the mountain.

“Diana…forgive me,” cried a tortured voice.

That voice shattered Wonder Woman’s focus in a way no army of monsters ever could. It was the voice of her mother, who she hadn’t seen in over a year. She was close and she was in pain. All the emotions that drew her towards Ares now drew her in another direction. As those emotions overwhelmed her and the arrows from undead soldiers kept flying around her, she made a decision.

“Mother,” she said solemnly. “Damn you, Ares.”

Following the echo of the voice, Wonder Woman changed direction. She no longer made her way to the summit. She flew down a darkened corridor to the east. It was an area of Olympus no Amazon had ever gone or ever wanted to go. This led to what the priestesses called the Olympian Brig. It was essentially a holding cell where those condemned by the gods would remain until their punishment was decided. It was a dark, cold, confined area meant to weaken the spirit. The idea that her mother was being kept her proved too much.

“Mother…I will save you!” she called out.

Her voice attracted more harpies and few other creatures that guarded this part of Olympus. They included large, spider-like creatures that crawled through cracks in the wall and set up webs to prevent anyone from rescuing the prisoners. She made quick work of the harpies, but the spiders proved more difficult.

They let out these terrible hissing noises and spat venomous webs at her. She evaded some, but got hit with a few sticky globs. It was disgusting and it burned her skin like acid, but she didn’t let it slow her down. She just wiped it off and punched the creature that spat it, crushing its skull in the process. This caused it to let out another sharp hiss, which seemed to attract the attention of even more spiders.

“The gods…are truly without mercy,” said Wonder Woman as more spiders converged on her.

Ignoring their hideous hissing and disgusting attacks, she pressed forward. She flew through the elaborate webs, avoiding claws and stingers in the process. She also used her lasso along the way, roping a few particularly large spiders by their legs and slamming them against others, which helped tear some of the webbing in the process.

A few smaller ones tried to ambush her by jumping down from the roof and landing on her back. One even got lucky enough to try and bite her. But she managed to grab its face before it could sink its claws into her flesh.

“Argh! No beast…or man…touches me without permission!” yelled Wonder Woman.

She ripped the legs of the spider off to prove her point and threw its corpse at others trying to slow her down. The determined Amazon then sped up, flying faster and punching her way clear through one of the larger spider-like creatures blocking her path. It covered her in more disgusting entrails, but she didn’t care. She kept flying into the darkness. Once she put some distance between herself and the spiders, Wonder Woman heard another pained cry.

“Diana…Hera…gods…have mercy on my soul.”

It was her mother again. Clenching her fists, Wonder Woman followed that voice deeper into this forbidden sanctum. Eventually, she reached a massive wall of black stone that seemed to radiate utter despair. Within this wall were a number of cave-like openings. Each one of these caves gave off a very tormented feel, as though they were meant to make death seem merciful. The idea of her mother being in one was a torment in and of itself.

Still following overwhelming waves of emotion, Wonder Woman scanned these caves as quickly as she could. She eventually identified one that that had a dim light coming from it. With her mother’s presence now tantalizingly close, she flew towards the cave as fast as the winds of Hermes would take her.

“Mother! Mother, I’m here!” she called out.

But upon entering the cave, Wonder Woman was not prepared for what she encountered. The moment she saw her mother, she froze in mid-air.

“By the gods…” she gasped.

For the first time in her life, Wonder Woman saw her mother in a state of utter defeat and complete submission. She sat with her back against the wall, her wrists shackled and strung up over her head by chains. She had been stripped of her legal garb, now dressed only in dirty rags. Her strength, grace, and spirit were gone, leaving only a broken woman. It was the worst possible state for any Amazon, let alone the queen.

When Hippolyta heard her daughter’s voice, she only slightly raised her head to acknowledge her presence. She revealed a pale complexion, a distant case, and eyes stained by many tears. It should’ve been a moment of joy, seeing her daughter again for the first time in over a year. Instead, it only added to her sorrow.

“Diana…my precious daughter,” said Hippolyta in a weak tone.

“It’ll be okay, Mother,” said Wonder Woman as she flew in closer. “I’m here to free you and our sisters. Just hold on and I’ll have you free in…”

“No! Don’t come any closer,” she warned.

Wonder Woman stopped again, shocked and confused by her mother’s words. She spoke with such pain and sorrow. Her just being close to her only added to it.

“Please mother…let me help you,” said Wonder Woman. “I know there are many things we need to discuss, but none of that matters now.”

“You’re…you’re wrong,” said Hippolyta sadly.

“But…” she began, only to be cut off again.

“You shouldn’t have come here.”

Still confused and distraught, Wonder Woman didn’t notice a purplish wall of energy forming behind her. If she had, she would’ve seen the imposing figure of the Annihilator armor step through it and into the cave. But Hippolyta saw it and unlike her daughter, she already knew how this battle would play out.

“She’s right. You should’ve listened to your mother,” said the snide voice of Lex Luthor.

Wonder Woman’s Amazon instincts kicked in. With superhuman reflexes, she turned around and attempted to strike the source of the voice. She only ended up with her arm being grabbed by the unbreakable grip of the Annihilator armor. She didn’t recognize the armor or its imposing power, but she did recognize the ghostly face within the helmet.

“Lex Luthor!” she exclaimed.

“Ah, so you know me,” he said with a grin. “Good, because I know you too. And I’ve been waiting a long time to do _this_.”

While still holding onto her arm, Luthor delivered a devastating right cross that sent Wonder Woman flying back into the rocky wall right next to her chained mother. It was a blow harder than any she had ever endured. It left her stunned and sore. For a moment, her whole body stung. It felt like her internal organs had been tossed around and rearranged. Coughing up a bit of blood, Wonder Woman could only clutch her side and lean back on the wall for support.

Luthor’s grin within the Annihilator Armor widened as he approached the wounded woman. He hadn’t forgotten how this woman ruined his plot against Superman with Metallo. She was a big reason why he had to go on the run in the first place. Now he was in a position to get revenge in so many satisfying ways.

“So you call yourself Wonder Woman? From where I’m standing, I don’t see much wonder,” he taunted. “I only see another fraudulent savior of mankind. The only difference between you and Superman is that you insist on dressing more provocatively.”

“Luthor…what have you done?” groaned Wonder Woman, struggling to stand under her own power.

“Exactly what I hoped to do before you so rudely disrupted my plans over a year ago,” Luthor replied. “The only difference now is that it’s going to hurt a _lot_ more.”

“That would be an understatement,” came a new voice back from the purplish wall of energy.

Wonder Woman’s pain gave way to anger again as she recognized the menacing voice of Ares, the God of War. His sinister face had formed within the portal, complete with a devious sneer. It allowed him to look down on her and her mother like in ways only an arrogant god could.

“Ares…” said Wonder Woman with burning hatred.

“Nice to see you too, Princess. Or should I say _former_ princess?” Ares replied. “Given the state of your mother, I’m not sure the rules of royal lineage apply anymore.”

“Call me whatever you want. It won’t make what I do to you hurt any less.”

“You threatening to hurt a god is like an ant threatening to harm a mountain. You’ve just proven that for all your warrior spirit, you’re still as flawed as every other mortal. You hear your mother’s feeble cries and you willingly put yourself in the exact position I want. It would be so satisfying if it weren’t so pathetically predictable.”

It was a painful realization in more ways than one. Wonder Woman should’ve seen it coming, but this cunning god manipulated her emotions. She did exactly what she promised herself she wouldn’t do. She did her enemy a huge favor and played right into his hands. She looked over towards her mother, who only held her head low in shame for the part she played in it. She then looked back at Ares, who kept grinning as though he had already won.

“What’s pathetic is _you_ , Ares. Defying Olympus…using my sisters…teaming up with Lex Luthor,” said Diana, wiping more blood from her mouth. “Do you really think you can win? That you can use me to get your precious war?”

“I don’t _think_ I can, Diana. I don’t need to,” scoffed Ares. “Just look at what I’ve accomplished since you last interfered. I got you to exile yourself. I got your sisters to expose your mother’s dirty little secret. I even got my darling mother to go through the trouble of subverting my father’s authority.”

Wonder Woman’s eyes widened with a new kind of anger upon hearing this. She turned to her mother again, who just gave her a solemn glance to confirm his words. This arrogant god just kept finding new ways to enrage her.

“You…you were responsible for that?” she exclaimed.

“Directly in some – indirectly in others,” he said in an all too casual tone. “Again, it would’ve been much more satisfying if it weren’t so easy.”

“So everything that tore me and my family apart – that was you!”

“It would’ve happened sooner or later. I just sped up the process and made sure it worked to my advantage. Now, thanks in no small part to you, I’ve subverted my father, subdued every god on Olympus, and put myself in a position to launch the war I’ve been planning for centuries. I would say thank you, but I know you’ll never appreciate it.”

He was a god mad with power, but it was a power she helped him achieve without knowing it. Wonder Woman knew as well as any Amazon that the gods could be manipulative, but never like this. The gods were supposed to be just, their tendency towards manipulation always being a means to an end. Ares had gone much further. He shunned all the ideals and values the gods were supposed to uphold. He was a walking affront to everything the Amazons stood far. She could not let this stand.

Now simmering with rage, Wonder Woman returned to her feet. But Lex Luthor stood ready to face her within the Annihilator Armor. Ares was goading her into unleashing her full wrath and doing way too good a job of it.

“Are you finished taunting her yet, Ares? I’m in this obscenely powerful armor and I’m getting bored,” he said, cracking his knuckles within the armor.

“I think I’ve said all I need to say,” said Ares. “She clearly thinks she can fight the God of War. It’s only proper that she go through one of my greatest weapons to earn that privilege.”

“No weapon will stop me…from getting to you,” said Wonder Woman with fierce determination.

“Well if you’re that confident, then by all means. But I advise you make it a quick battle. My army is almost ready to attack. And guess who’s going to be on the front line?”

In yet another brazen act to provoke the angry Amazon, the image of his face faded from the purplish wall of energy behind Luthor. Then, within this wall of energy, a portal formed that revealed a disturbing vision. It showed the entire Amazon army, dressed in new attire bearing the emblems of the God of War. They stood side-by-side in perfect harmony, their eyes glowing with the same ominous purplish energy. They had no will or spirit of their own. They were clearly just slaves to the will of Ares now.

It was another disgusting act of submission and manipulation. The spirit of the Amazons that were supposed to be free so they could fight with all their hearts now lay in the hands of this mad god, who would not hesitate for a second to sacrifice them in his war. It effectively refocused Diana’s determination and spirit, overriding any lingering pain in her body.

“My sisters…I won’t let you use them anymore!” said Wonder Woman with a burning determination.

“That’s just what I was hoping to hear,” said Luthor.

She didn’t even hear his words at this point. She was too consumed with anger to hear anything other than the defeated cries of her enemy. With unrelenting fury, she took to the air again and flew towards the Annihilator Armor at full speed. She struck him right in the chest. Luthor attempted to block her, but she struck with such force that she drove him back towards the portal and they both ended up flying right through it. She didn’t care where it led her or what danger it entailed. No matter where Ares was, she was going to find him and defeat him.

As soon as she and Luthor entered the portal, they disappeared into the purplish haze. It instantly transported them out of the cave and into the unknown. Hippolyta, who tried in vain not to watch, let out another cry of anguish.

“Diana no!” she exclaimed.

Once again, the former Queen of the Amazons felt an overwhelming despair. Her daughter once again played into the hands of Ares. She was now doomed to a battle she could not win.

“I’m so sorry, Diana. I failed you…again,” Hippolyta lamented.

“Oh don’t feel too bad, Hippolyta,” said Ares. “She was always destined to serve a noble purpose. She just had to make it harder on herself.”

Through the still open portal, the figure of the God of War emerged. He entered the cave, his every stride smug with victory. He approached the bound Hippolyta and looked down on her with the utmost pity. The former queen, despite her despair, looked back at him with utter disdain. This god that the Amazons once actually worshipped was using them in ways even Hercules never dared. It filled her with so much anger, but there was nothing she could do. For once, the proud Amazon could not fight back.

“How much more punishment do you intend to inflict on me, Ares? Do you want me to envy Prometheus himself?” spat Hippolyta.

“My dear Hippolyta, you presume too much,” said the God of War. “I’m not Hera. I’m not my father either. I’ve no intention of tormenting you more than you deserve.”

“I’d say it’s _far_ too late for that,” she muttered.

“Also unlike my fellow gods, I am not without mercy. You might not think it so, but I believe that even lying harlots like yourself deserve to witness moments of glory.”

Ares then proceeded to grab the chains that bound Hippolyta’s wrists and ripped them out of the wall. He made sure the former Amazon queen remained bound and restrained, holding her up so that her arms could not move. For a moment, he just glared at her face-to-face, taking in the hatred and despair. It was such a satisfying sight for the God of War, but not as satisfying as the victory that lay ahead.

“Now come,” he said as he carried her back towards the portal. “Join me as your daughter helps unlock the Tomb of Erebus. Watch as she and your fellow Amazons help me unleash the greatest war that gods and mortals have ever seen!”

* * *

**Themyscira**

Returning to Themyscira was a bittersweet moment for Superman. On one hand, this was the place where he met Diana, the woman he fell so madly in love with. On the other, this was same place where an army of immortal women wanted to put him on trial for the crime of being shipwrecked. He had many mixed feelings about this island, but he figured it was would have to return to it at some point. This island was part of Diana’s life. As such, it was destined to be part of his life. He just wished he had returned under better circumstances. Then again, such circumstances might not have been possible.

_‘There it is – Themyscira, the beautiful island where I met the love of my life and a xenophobic tribe of immortal women. It’s funny. I knew the moment I got involved with Diana that I would have to come back at some point, but I still feel woefully unprepared.’_

Guided by the Pennant of Athena that Wonder Woman left for him, Superman successfully navigated the waters of the Mediterranean and bypassed the mystical shroud to reach this secluded island. He tried not to slow down and take in the view, even as he passed over the very shore on which he first laid eyes on the woman that became his lover. He had to stay focused. Wonder Woman needed him use this pennant to reach her before the gods lured her into a battle she couldn’t win. He had to be her lifeline in a battle neither of them understood. Unfortunately, this involved relying heavily on magic, a force Superman didn’t particularly care for.

_‘I’ll say it once and I’ll say it again. I hate magic. It’s not just one of the few things that hurts me. It’s hard to handle, impossible to predict, and blows up in my face more often than not. But for Diana – if it works, I’ll handle as much as I have to.’_

The pennant’s power seemed to increase as soon as he passed over the shores of the island. It hadn’t changed much since his last visit. However, Superman did notice that a dark overcast had descended over the island, which didn’t seem natural. It gave him a very bad feeling because it meant that many more mystical forces lay ahead. Unlike the other threats he often faced, he would not be able to rely on strength alone to get him through this.

Superman soon came across an even more ominous sign as he flew towards the center of the island. Using his super vision, he saw that there had already been a pretty significant battle and from the looks of it, the Amazons lost. A good chunk of their settlement was devastated. It looked as though an army had stormed through, destroying everything in its path. Whatever came through her had to be pretty powerful, which was a distressing sign in and of itself.

_‘Wow. It looks like there was a pretty big battle here already. Not sure who won, but the Amazons are supposed to be tenacious warriors. Anyone or anything that can fight them and cause this much destruction has to be pretty potent. And if Diana has to go up against something like this…’_

He had to stop himself from think about the terrible possibilities. He couldn’t allow himself to even entertain such thoughts. He had to trust his lover just as much as she trusted him.

_‘No. Don’t think that way, Clark. Diana’s tougher than that. She’s probably already punching her way through whatever monster is stupid enough to get in her way. Don’t waste your time worrying about her. She’s a warrior. She knows how to fight. Focus on getting to her so you can fight this battle together.’_

With this added motivation, Superman flew in lower and landed in the middle of the devastated settlement. The pennant started glowing brighter. He could feel its power increasing. It felt like it was now trying to shove him towards his lover, but at the same time it also felt like it was trying to warn him. Hessia did tell him that the pennant reacted strangely when Wonder Woman activated it with her blood. This might be part of that reaction.

Before following the pennant any farther, he used his super vision and super hearing to scan the settlement. He could hear nothing but the wind and saw nothing but more destruction. Superman had learned from experience the value of assessing a situation before he rushed into battle. This situation was already raising more than a few red flags.

“No bodies…no blood…nothing,” said Superman. “I’m not sure if that’s a good or bad sign. I don’t know what happened here, but I’m pretty sure it was just a prelude.”

He followed the pennant a little farther, passing by a few destroyed homes and a temple that had sustained heavy damage. He kept his eye out for any Amazons that might still be hiding. He still remembered how hostile they were to men trespassing on their island. For all he knew, some were using a mystical cloak he couldn’t sense to prepare an ambush.

Remaining as vigilant as possible, Superman scanned the area a bit longer before he risked following the pennant any farther. He was just about ready to take to the air again when he was startled by the sound of breaking glass.

“Guess I spoke too soon,” he said.

Superman immediately took a defensive stance and looked over towards the source of the noise. But to his surprise, it didn’t come from anything hostile. Instead, it came courtesy of an elegantly dressed woman wearing a peacock-like gown stammering out of the temple. He could tell from a distance she was visibly drunk, but not nearly as hostile as he expected.

“What’s this? A man dares to set foot on this sacred island?” said the woman in a slurred tone. “Is there no end to my humiliation?”

Superman gazed at the woman with a raised eyebrow and relaxed his stance. However, he remained careful in approaching, not knowing what to expect from this island that had been so unwelcoming to him.

“Uh…ma’am? Are you okay?” he asked, his farm boy manners kicking in.

“Ma’am? Do men still say that? Then again, I can’t remember the last time a man showed me that kind of respect,” she laughed as she glared towards him. “What are you trying to pull? Are you another one of Zeus’ bastards? Because if you are, be quick with your wrath and leave me alone.”

“Please ma’am, I’m not here to hurt anybody,” said Superman with a peaceful gesture. “I’m here because this is Diana’s home and she sensed it was in trouble.”

“Well look around. Do you sense the little harlot was right?” she said dryly.

“I’m not here to state the obvious. I’m here to help her. And I’d appreciate it if you not call her a harlot.”

Hera sneered towards the man as she stammered over towards him. She already had another bottle of wine in hand that she had every intention of opening and consuming whole, if only to annoy this man for trespassing on her sacred island. But as she approached, she recognized the pennant he was holding.

“Hey…is that the Pennant of Athena? I thought she stopped making those,” she said.

“I don’t know much about it. I just know that it’s supposed to help me get to Diana. And if you could offer any clue as to what she’s facing, I would really appreciate it,” said Superman.

“You want to _help_ her? Against my son, the God of War?” Hera laughed. “You either have a death wish or you’re too soft on illegitimate bastards.”

The imposing man frowned at her again, not appreciating her remarks towards Diana in the slightest. Hera had plenty more she could’ve gone over and she was plenty drunk to list them all. But once she got closer, she recognized more than just the pennant.

“Unless…you’re that man, aren’t you?” she said. “You’re the one that wooed the princess all those years ago.”

“I’m not sure what you mean by _wooed_ , but yes. I am that man,” Superman affirmed.

“Then that would also make you the one that inspired her to exile herself. Guess that means you did a lot more than woo her.”

“I didn’t do anything. Diana made her own choice. She also chose to go back to her home. Now I’m choosing to help her.”

Hera looked at this man with a raised eyebrow for a moment, her demeanor shifting from one of drunken disdain to one of drunken curiosity. It had been a long time since she interacted with a mortal man. She found many of them boring or brutish. But this was the man who triggered such upheaval among the Amazons by leaving such a strong impression on the princess. He had to be more than that to accomplish such a feat.

“Choice? Ha!” she scoffed in a slurred tone. “A man choosing to put his life on the line for a woman – a woman choosing to leave her life behind because of a man– I want to say it’s pathetic, but who am I to talk? I’ve only known men to choose in accord with their interests or their loins, whichever comes first.”

She almost sounded sad when she said this. Superman didn’t sense that this woman was hostile, but her behavior started to concern him. She knew of his connections with Wonder Woman and his history on this island. She also reacted strangely to what he said. The very idea of him wanting to help her for a battle she deemed unwinnable baffled and intrigued her. He questioned whether he should expect this woman to help him in any capacity.

“But you’re a different kind of man, aren’t you?” said Hera in a less snide tone. “You’re the kind of man who actually loves her and actually does the right thing, even when he doesn’t have to. You’d have to be that kind of man for Diana to make such a choice.”

“You’ll have to ask her about that,” he replied.

“I don’t need to. I already spoke with her when she arrived. And before she ran off to fight a losing battle, she made one thing clear – she doesn’t regret her choice. She must really _love_ you. Just saying that out loud makes me want to cry like a baby.”

Her tone became solemn. She went to open the bottle of wine she still had in her hand, but she stopped herself this time. No amount of alcohol could make the facts any less damning. Now it was just a matter of salvaging a shred of dignity.

“At least she has decent tastes,” said Hera, now admiring his manly features. “I remember you being a goofy, rather unremarkable boy. Now here you are – a fully grown man in a remarkably manly body. For you to influence Diana so profoundly, I bet you have an endowment that would make a titan sick with envy.”

“Ma’am, I don’t know what you’re dealing with right now. But if this is the only assistance I can expect from you, then I should probably leave you to sober up,” said Superman with a touch of embarrassment.

“And you even have manners – real, actual manners!” she said in astonishment. “You know, if I weren’t the Goddess of Marriage, I would do things to you that would make Aphrodite herself jealousy.”

She then reached out to touch his chest, following both her jaded emotions and drunken inclinations. However, this man wouldn’t have it. He grasped her wrist to stop her before she could feel what Diana had probably felt to such bliss. He made it clear that he would not be swayed by her charms or distracted from his mission. It only made him far too decent for a conflict like this.

“Ma’am – or Hera, as that would make you – I don’t mean to be rude, but I don’t have time for this,” he said strongly.

“For once a man doesn’t follow his loins and I’m disappointed. Just my luck,” she muttered.

“Now I don’t know what I’m up against. From what you’ve said, I gather it’s pretty dangerous. You seem pretty confident that Diana won’t win this battle.”

“ _Nobody_ can win this battle. Ares has already made sure of that. If you or Diana or any other pitiful soul opposes him, you’ll fall. It’s that simple,” said Hera as she yanked her arm out of his grip.

She spoke in such absolutes, like he had already won. Superman had heard people say that a situation was beyond hope. He committed himself to proving those people wrong the day he put on his cape. Now that the woman he loved was involved, he had even more incentive.

“I don’t believe that. I _won’t_ ,” said Superman strongly. “I don’t care if I’m dealing with a god. I’m going to help Diana. I’m going to find a way to stop this before it hurts her or any innocent people.”

“Innocent people?” said Hera. “You would fight for both them _and_ a disgraced princess? Now it sounds like you’re compensating for something.”

“I’m not compensating for anything. Why would I?”

“I don’t know. What are you trying to prove? That you love Diana enough to die for her? That doesn’t prove anything other than how cruel love can be.”

“I don’t need to die for her to prove that I love her. She already knows I love her. What I’m doing – what _she’s_ doing – isn’t about us. It’s about doing the right thing. I’ll find a way, she’ll find a way, or we’ll find a way together. I don’t care what you call it. This is my choice.”

He left no room for argument. He spoke with an authority and certainty that rivaled any god. If Hera weren’t so drunk, she might actually respect it. She could tell he still wanted her help. But even without it, he would move forward. And since he had the Pennant of Athena in hand, he was destined to be on the front lines of Ares’ war. It struck the former Queen of Olympus in a way that transcended her intoxication.

It seemed so alien to a god, choosing something just because it was the right thing to do. Hera was surrounded by gods who just chose and gave no thought to how right or wrong it was. Their authority was the only reason they needed. However, this man that had captured the heart of an Amazon Princess wielded his power differently. He didn’t need to be persuaded, forced, or tricked into doing the right thing. He just did it on his own accord. Something about that made him more powerful than any god and the idea of just sending him to his death didn’t sit well.

Superman gave her a few more moments to reconsider. Eventually, he turned around and prepared to leave her to her drunkenness. He was fully prepared to follow the Pennant of Athena the rest of the way to his lover, despite not knowing just how overmatched he was. And because Hera did know, she decided to make a fateful choice of her own.

“Wait,” she said before he could leave.

“If you’re going to give me more warnings, ma’am – you should know I’m not going to change my mind,” said Superman.

“I’m used to having my advice ignored so I won’t bother. But if you insist on being this honorable – well, I wouldn’t be much of a goddess if I didn’t offer some help.”

“Thank you,” he said graciously. “Anything you can offer would be a help at this point.”

“Then manage your expectations because I can’t offer much,” said Hera, shaking off her drunkenness regaining what little poise she had left. “There are a few things I know about my son that few others do. And if you do as I say and are as strong as you claim, then you just might stand a chance. If nothing else, this will piss him off in ways you and Diana should find _very_ satisfying.”

* * *

**Up next: Front Lines**


	16. Front Lines

**Strangers In Paradise**   
**Chapter 16: Front Lines**

* * *

**New Mexico – Helion Solar Test Range**

It wouldn’t be much longer now. The first shots of Ares’ war had been fired on Olympus. The second shots were fired by Apollo when he met up with Persephone. Now with the rest of the gods locked in the Oblivion Prison and their efforts here in the mortal world reaching a vital threshold, they were just about ready for the final shot. For Apollo, it couldn’t come soon enough.

“We’re almost at full capacity,” he said, still in the guise of Alfanso Disole. “Can you feel the chaos radiating from Olympus, Persephone?”

“I’ve been feeling it since before this even began. Is it supposed to make me feel so…anxious?” she said, hugging her shoulders under her veil.

“I’d attribute that to going from the Underworld to this barren patch of desert. I consider this New Mexico to be only a slight upgrade to my uncle’s palace. I promise that feeling will fade soon,” said Apollo.

“Forgive me if I’m unable to ease myself. Your history with respect to keeping promises is nothing to brag about,” she pointed out.

“If you think you’d be more comfortable back in the Underworld, then by all means. I’d be happy to take you back. But then you’d miss the fruits of our labor.”

The God of Light was tactful in reminding Persephone that she had little choice in this matter. Even after escaping the Underworld and the grasp of her husband, her destiny was still at the mercy of others. It didn’t feel like much of an improvement, but it was too late now. She chose to aid Apollo and Ares. Now she had to see the results of those choices.

Apollo didn’t let Persephone’s mood discourage him. Everything was unfolding smoother than he had hoped. He avoided scrutiny in setting up this glorious feat of godly engineering. Neither the gods nor the mortals had any idea of what had been unfolding right under their noses. That power put him in a position to accomplish something no god had ever dared before. It promised to forever change the balance between Olympus, the gods, and the mortals that once worshipped them.

He and Persephone had a perfect view of the test range from the observation deck in the central hanger. As he had instructed as Alfanso Disole, this area had been set up as a central hub to control every system within this facility. It included large TV monitors and holographic projectors that formed a detailed image of the various machines he had been working on since he arrived in the mortal realm months ago. Most of these machines were concealed in hangers or buried underground in what used to be storage areas for nuclear warheads. Many of them were fairly small, standing no larger than a couple of houses. To the ignorant mortals, they looked like electrical generators. To cunning gods, like himself, they were fueling the overthrow of his father’s order.

He called them Cerberus Generators after the beasts that guarded the gates of Hades. Utilizing a mixture of mortal technology and Olympian engineering, they generated a unique kind of energy that flowed freely between the realm of mortals and gods. This energy allowed Ares to open unguarded gates around the Olympus’ defenses and trap the gods in the Oblivion Prison. It also generated the energy Ares needed to control his army of chaos. So far, they had generated enough power for him to outwit the gods, but he had every intention of generating much more.

“It won’t be much longer now. Once we’re at full capacity, we can begin the final phase,” he said as he monitored the status of the generators.

“Just how confident are you that this phase won’t tear both our realms asunder?” asked Persephone. “I don’t claim to know much about the forces connecting the realms, but I’d like to know there’s something on Olympus to go back to when the time comes.”

“You’ve too little faith and too poor an understanding of the intricacies of our realms,” scoffed Apollo. “The Cerberus Generators have been operating for months now. Zeus himself even utilized this energy when he thought I was developing these systems for him. Sure, he didn’t know about the _tweaks_ I made with Ares, but they did the job and we’re still standing.”

“I’d feel a lot better about that if you weren’t so vague on the extent of these _tweaks_.”

“You don’t need to know that and neither anyone else, mortal or immortal. I’ll only say that our only remaining obstacle involves scale. It’s one thing to open small gateways between the realms. But doing so on a larger scale is quite challenging, given the pathetic limits of mortal technology. And despite some recent unpleasantness, this new system I’ve developed will give us full control over our fate.”

Apollo didn’t expect Persephone to understand or appreciate what he was about to do. Then again, she couldn’t possibly know the extent of his plans. That was a fate known only to him and he stood ready to seize it.

He let the former Queen of the Underworld continue to doubt him as he reviewed the status of every generator on the test range. From this hub, he could direct and control the flow of energy going into the realm of the gods and adjust everything accordingly. It reminded him of Olympus in a sense. It was like the summit from which he could observe and control everything within his dominion. He tried not to enjoy it too much because the domain he sought promised to be much bigger.

“As far as the mortals outside are concerned, they’re just taking part in an ambitious experiment from an eccentric businessman. They don’t see any danger. They just see an opportunity for more overtime,” he said as he continued to enjoy the control.

“Should we pity them?” said Persephone, completely indifferent at this point.

“That would be too generous. When they see what I have in store for this barren patch of desert, they might just start worshipping us again.”

Now radiating confidence in the same way he radiated the light of the gods, Apollo finished the status check on the generators. He also shifted his form, no longer looking the part of Alfanso Disole. When this final phase was complete, he didn’t want these people to see a mortal. He wanted them to see a true god. Once in this form, he made his way over to a makeshift desk and retrieved a bulky communicator that connected him to the test range’s sound system.

“Attention all technical and security personal. The final test protocols have been engaged. You are to complete your respective duties and clear the test area. Seek shelter behind the blast bunkers around the perimeter gates. Please do not emerge until the safety siren has been activated. Thank you.”

As his voice blared throughout the test range, he could already see the men and women outside complying. Security personnel ordered people around, telling them to either get moving or hurry up with their tasks. Technicians and engineers worked feverishly on the systems within the hangers and those yet to be deployed. Some moved out of fear. Some moved out of dedication. Whatever their reason, they all moved in accord with his whim. It empowered Apollo in a way he hadn’t felt in centuries.

_‘I almost forgot what it feels like to wield authority over mortals. It’s…satisfying. I find that funny and a little sad. They obey me because they think I am their mortal boss. It’ll be interesting to see how they obey when they know I’m a god. If fate continues to be so kind and Ares continues to be so brazen, then I hope to find out soon enough.’_

* * *

**Meanwhile**

“Whoa. This just got _way_ more dangerous than you said it would,” said an anxious Jonathan Carroll.

“I never promised it wouldn’t get bad. And if I did, you’d know well enough not to believe me,” said Lois.

Moments ago, an announcement rang out throughout the test range from Alfanso Disole. This test that so few seemed to know much about was set to begin sooner than expected. They had just managed to sneak onto the test range and already, everybody around them acted like somebody had just lit a fire under their feet.

Lois and Jonathan treated it no different than being in another war zone. However, their efforts made them feel less like reporters and more like spies. Getting into this facility required more than a press pass and some charm. They had to stake out one of the gates on the north, which most of the security personnel used. It took them a while, but they eventually came across a couple of guards having a smoke break. While they sat out on some rocks, they set their gear aside and left their key cards exposed. With stealth skills that might actually make her father crack a smile, Lois managed to swipe one.

From there, they slipped into one of the guard barracks outside the gates where they helped themselves to a couple uniforms. Once inside, they pretended to be ordinary guards doing routine checks. They listened in for more information about what was going on here. They hadn’t been listening for very long before the announcement rang out. It was at this point Lois realized that the easy part of this story was over.

_‘This is one of those stories where Clark ends up owing more favors than I pay back. He said Helion Solar kept a tight lid on their activities. He never mentioned anything about a big test happening this morning. Guess they were farther along in their work than he thought. The way these people are running, they must be gearing up for something big.’_

Lois and Jonathan did their best not to appear lost. They followed other guards and watched other personnel react. Some were getting onto jeeps and riding off. Some were forming lines outside certain hangers and coordinated to move equipment and tools. They were all pretty efficient, but they also kept their heads down. The whole mood throughout the base had a distinct aura of fear, which was rarely a good sign.

“Keep moving. You heard the boss!” said one of the guards driving a jeep.

“We have less than 15 minutes to run diagnostics on the generators, people. So unless you’re an Olympic sprinter, you had better finish it in 10,” shouted a female official in a suit.

“How much are we getting paid for this again?” asked one of the guards next to Jonathan.

“Careful man. Remember Helion Solar’s unofficial policy – no bad questions means no bad answers,” replied another.

Lois and Jonathan exchanged glances, having already made a few telling conclusions. They noticed shortly after entering the test range that everybody tried to say as little as possible. It was not unlike the military where people avoided talking to one another because they were afraid they might ask the wrong question and get the wrong answer. It felt way too secretive for a private company that specialized in solar energy.

They continued following a crowd guards away from the hangers. However, this was taking them away from anything or anyone that might give them any answers. They had been in enough hostile areas to understand that nobody ever got a story by following the rules of those attempting to suppress that story. They needed to get more creative and bold with their tactics.

_‘We’re following way too many blissfully ignorant drones here. These people don’t know anything. They don’t want to know anything. If we’re going to get any answers, we need to stay close to the action.’_

Without saying a word, Lois looked towards Jonathan and nodded again. She could already tell by the way he was looking around that he was thinking the same thing. They kept walking for a moment until she came up with a plan. She then briefly gestured towards one of the nearby hangers. Having shared more than a few subtleties in hostile environments, he knew what to do.

First, Jonathan pretended to check his communicator, which wasn’t even turned on. The two of them then broke off from the rest of the guards and made their way back towards one of the open hangers.

“Hey! Where are you two going?” asked one of the ranking guards trying to hurry everyone along.

“We’ll catch up. We need to take care of something,” said Jonathan, doing his best impression of an underpaid and overworked guard.

“You heard the boss. We got protocol here. Or did you forget?” he asked threatening.

“I haven’t forgotten, but these are _special_ orders. Can’t say much else without it getting awkward,” replied Jonathan without flinching in the slightest.

They kept on moving and, as expected, the ranking guard didn’t say anything else. One of the benefits of dealing with overly secretive people was that they were never inclined to get too curious. They would rather just assume as much as they could get away with and plead ignorance if they got in trouble for it.

As soon as they got clear, she and Jonathan moved faster towards one of the hangers. They passed by only a few more guards and a couple of uniformed base personnel, who kept their heads down and didn’t give them a second look. When they finally got clear, they shifted their focus to gathering facts.

“That sounded almost too good,” commented Lois.

“That drama minor in college might as well be good for something,” said Jonathan with a grin. “Charm can only take you so far in this business.”

“Hold that thought because you might be right…in more ways than you think,” said Lois. “They keep talking about these generators. Clark mentioned generators in his notes. Said they gave off some strange energy. I’m thinking if we get a closer look, we’ll get a better idea of just how strange it is.”

“Any chance this is the kind of energy that’ll turn our hair gray?” wondered Jonathan.

“I don’t see anybody in radiation suits so I think your sperm count is safe. Besides, anything nuclear would attract too much scrutiny. These guys don’t want scrutiny. They want to keep their secrets.”

“That or they want to make sure what they do catches everybody by surprise,” he added.

“Well then I guess it’s up to us to change that,” said Lois.

Now taking the lead, Lois passed by a couple of parked jeeps and discarded storage crates. This gave her and Jonathan a bit more cover as they neared the hanger. Once they reached the opening, she stopped and waited for a moment. She could still hear people running around inside, but it sounded like they were clearing out. She and Jonathan lingered for a few moments, opting to not risk exposure by taking a peak too soon. It made the next few minutes very tense. Once they heard all the footsteps die down, Lois finally took a look inside the hanger.

“Whoa. I think we just failed to some extent because I’m officially surprised,” she said.

“That makes two of us,” said Jonathan with equal astonishment.

What they saw was a lot more menacing than anything Clark described in his notes. This generator, as everyone called it, didn’t look like much of a generator. It didn’t even look like something a solar company would make. It wasn’t very big, but it radiated with a kind of power that felt more dangerous than a typical high voltage device.

It stood about as tall as a large tractor trailer and took up about as much space as a typical baseball field. The main structure was composed of two large spheres, each pointed at one another and separated by about six feet of space. In between these spheres was this glowing ball of purplish energy. It pulsed like a miniature star, hovering and flickering as if it were tuned into a certain channel on a radio or television. It didn’t appear to be obeying the traditional laws of physics. Its composition and design didn’t look traditional either. It didn’t have an alien feel, which both Lois and Jonathan were familiar with. It appeared to be something else entirely.

What made the site of this generator even more distressing was that there was more than one. Within the spacious hanger, Lois counted at least half a dozen. In addition, there were at least 15 hangers on this test range. If they all contained a generator like this, then it was safe to conclude that the scale of this story just got a lot bigger.

_‘I stopped doubting you hours ago, Smallville. Now I can safely say you’ve been vindicated. There’s no way this is about solar energy. I’m not even sure this involves any kind of energy we know of. Whatever story you thought you had barely scratched the surface. It’s definitely more than just some secretive company doing something illegal. Question now is what kind of story will this be?’_

As Lois took a closer look at one of the generators, Jonathan began following some of the wires that fed into it. He kept scanning for any remaining personnel that might still be walking around. Near as he could tell, everybody had already evacuated this hanger. He was inclined to do the same, not knowing if there was anything else to uncover. Then, upon seeing the control equipment where many of the wires converged, he noticed a familiar logo that warranted a new kind of dread.

“Uh…Lois? I hope your done being surprised because I just found something disturbing,” said Jonathan.

“What is it? And how worried should we be?” she asked him.

“Come over and see for yourself.”

Lois managed to tear herself away from the strange sight of the generators and caught up with Jonathan. When she saw what he was looking at, her stomach churned in way that ruined her appetite for the rest of the day.

“Lexcorp,” she said, frowning at the sight of the logo.

“I don’t remember that in Clark’s notes either,” said Jonathan.

“And I don’t think Perry will feel as bad about that retraction once he sees this,” said Lois. “If Lex Luthor’s fingerprints are on this, then there’s no way these people can stay private. Being associated with a fugitive will do that.”

“That assumes we can get the word out before they finish this _test_ or whatever the hell they’re doing here.”

“I’m not even going to entertain that thought, but now we know for a fact this is way worse than Clark suspected,” said Lois as she retrieved her cell phone from her pocket. “I’m need to shoot Perry a text and we’re going to get as many details as we can before this test begins. If we’re lucky in any capacity, we’ll be able to slip out before they…”

Before Lois could finish her sentence or even turn on her phone, they felt an ominous tremor in the ground that reverberated throughout the test range. It wasn’t too big, but it was strong to make them lose their balance for a brief moment. Shortly after they felt it, they heard a loud alarm blaring across the test range. Staying close, the looked out from the hanger and towards the central area.

 _“Attention all personnel. Please retreat at least 300 feet from the central platform. The first phase of the testing protocols has been initiated. I repeat. The first phase of the testing protocols has been initiated,”_ said a mechanical voice.

More tremors followed as Lois and Jonathan watched a large concrete slab in the center of the test range, which they initially thought was a landing pad for helicopters, open up. It moved back like the launch bay for a missile silo, revealing some of the structure that lay beneath the base. It might very well have once contained missiles. But as Jonathan and Lois watched intently, they discovered that it now contained something much more exotic.

Once the concrete slab was fully opened, another round of tremors rocked the area. They could hear the loud hissing of gears and hydraulics moving, pushing something up to the surface. As it emerged, it revealed what looked like a large circular doorway that stood big enough for a small building to fit through. At the base of the structure, there was a web of thick cables that connected to each hanger, indicating that it drew upon whatever exotic energy they were generating. And if the deep humming sound coming from it was any indication, it had already been turned on.

“I don’t see a Lexcorp logo on that thing, but I’m pretty sure it’s just as dangerous,” commented Jonathan.

“I’d say that’s a pretty safe bet,” said Lois.

“I’m also pretty sure it’s something we’ll have to do more than just report on,” he added.

“Now that’s just a sucker bet,” she replied.

“Then what’s our next move? We’ve got more than just headlines at stake now.”

Lois needed a moment to process all these new connections. At this point, just leaving and letting press exposure do the rest was no longer a viable option. This had the look and feel of something that could do a lot of damage if they let it happen. Anything with Lex Luthor’s name on made that next to inevitable. She couldn’t hope to understand the kinds of forces involved in this test of theirs, but she didn’t have to in order to stop it.

“I have a few ideas,” Lois said, still fixated on the structure before her. “You’re not going to like any of them. But now that Lex Luthor’s name is attached this thing, we can assume it’s in everyone’s interest to shut it down. For all we know, he’s already making himself comfortable for the big show.”

* * *

**Tartarus**

“YOU ARROGANT, FOOLISH, PETTY EXCUSE FOR A MAN! YOU _WILL_ REGRET SIDING WITH TRECHEROUS GODS!” yelled an enraged and determined Wonder Woman as she attacked Lex Luthor.

“I only regret not having a way to mute that annoying voice of yours,” he sneered as he defended against her attacks.

The sound of Wonder Woman’s battle cries echoed throughout this desolate patch of Tartarus. She didn’t recall how exactly she ended up here. As soon as she attacked Lex Luthor, whose spirit now drove the legendary Annihilator Armor, she willingly followed him into the portal from where he came. She didn’t care if it led her to the deepest pits of Hades. She was going to battle this man until he surrendered or led her to Ares, whichever came first.

The powerful Amazon kept Luthor on the defensive the moment she threw the first punch. As soon as they landed in Tartarus, she relentlessly punched and kicked at the imposing armor with all her might. She knew of the Annihilator Armor’s strength as any well-educated Amazon. She could not let it strike her again. Even her durability and determination could only protect her so much against such a deadly weapon.

Beyond her strategy and determination, the presence of Lex Luthor made this already dire situation more volatile. Wonder Woman knew this man’s treachery as well as anyone who associated with Superman. He was the epitome of a devious, pitiless, self-absorbed man who only sought power over others, including those like Superman. It had been one of Lex Luthor’s plots that brought her and Superman together again. He should’ve been defeated. Now he had made a deal with the gods and this could only make everything worse.

“Why Luthor? Why?!” demanded Wonder Woman as she kept punching at his head. “Why submit yourself to gods like Ares? Are you that desperate to be as powerful as Superman?”

“You think this is about power?” scoffed Luthor, showing little strain under her assault. “I don’t need gods to attain power – especially false ones.”

“Then tell me!” she commanded, now grabbing the helmet of the armor. “I know you. This is hardly your style, allowing yourself to be a pawn.”

“Who says I’m the pawn?”

He grinned ominously and finally countered with an attack of his own. When Wonder Woman attempted to punch him again, he managed to grab her arm by the wrist and pull her off him. He felt a powerful surge within the armor. It filled him with a burst of strength the likes of which would surely make Superman jealous. Lex savored this strength and put it to good use, violently slamming Wonder Woman into the hard ground and pinning her under his hand.

Her durability kept her from being crushed. It also allowed Lex to get a closer look at this woman that had ruined his earlier plan. In seeing her up close, he saw the same pathetic display that he saw in Superman.

“I don’t believe we’ve formally met,” said Lex in an almost polite tone. “You clearly know me. I know you too. They call you Wonder Woman. Some call you a warrior, using your powers to supplement your fighting rather than replace it. Some call you a female version of Superman, the main difference being your love of more _provocative_ attire.”

“Call me…what you want. I’ll still…make you pay…for your crimes,” grunted Wonder Woman as she struggled to fight of his grip.

“Ha! Do you have any idea how often I hear that? Men, women, gods, and aliens – they say those exact words as though they have any real meaning. What are my crimes anyways? When did being superior become so egregious?”

“You really think…you’re superior?”

“I don’t think I am. I _know_ I am,” he said.

Exercising that superiority, Lex tightened his grip on her and held her up. He could still feel her struggling, but he didn’t let her struggle for too long. With an effortless gesture, he threw her across to the barren wasteland as hard as he could. She ended up tumbling across the ground until she struck a large bolder. Lex then used the power of the Annihilator Armor to run towards her at high speeds so that before she could even slump down, he pinned her against the boulder with his arm in another submissive hold.

“Do you remember that day you came to Superman’s aid against Metallo?” he said to her, throwing in an extra shove to jar her memory. “I sure do. It was _not_ a good day for me.”

“Ack! You expect…an apology?” choked Wonder Woman as she tried to push back.

“As if I would accept it,” Lex scoffed. “That day should’ve been the end of this. Your sisters never had to get involved. You never had to get involved. I already had everything in place. Superman was going to lose that fight. I was going to show in front of the whole world that a man could defeat a wannabe god.”

“You still…would’ve failed.”

“And you still would’ve been better off. But no! You just _had_ to intervene. I don’t know if it’s because of some inane warrior code. I don’t know if it’s because those tabloid rumors are true and you’re Superman’s woman. I really don’t care what your excuse is. It still proves what I suspected.”

The mention of Superman and her honor as a warrior filled Wonder Woman with a fresh bit of determination. She fought back harder, pushing the arm of the Annihilator Armor off her neck. Lex had to exert more strength, grasping both of her wrists again and pinning her to the boulder. She refused to stop fighting and every word Luthor said just made her fight harder.

“You’re just like all these other so-called _superheroes_ ,” he continued. “You take it upon yourself do for humanity what you don’t think they can do on their own. You prop us up like children while holding us back. You claim to protect us, but you look down on us like disobedient pets.”

“You’re even more deluded than I thought, Luthor. How Superman has resisted snapping your neck is beyond me,” spat Wonder Woman.

“Him snapping my neck would only vindicate me. He knows that and so does everyone else,” said Lex with a devious grin. “But you don’t seem to grasp that, do you?”

“I only grasp that you’re a madman who doesn’t mind tainting his soul for selfish reasons.”

“Then you’re even more misguided than Superman.”

The proud Amazon had heard enough of this man’s voice. She needed to shut him up. Despite having her arms restrained, her legs were still partially free. While Luthor leered over her, she delivered a few hard knees to the gut of the armor. It caused him to stammer briefly, giving her a little more room to work with. This allowed her to hit with a much harder kick, which loosened his grip on her enough for her to break free.

As soon as he released his grip on her, Wonder Woman unleashed another relentless attack. This time she struck with harder blows, going for his legs to keep him from gaining leverage over her. She struck at the knees, causing the Annihilator Armor to keel over just long enough for her to deliver a punishing uppercut. It helped silence Luthor, albeit briefly. It also emboldened her. Taking this man down would bring her one step closer to stopping Ares and saving her sisters.

“I don’t know what madness has clouded your thinking, Luthor. And honestly, I’ve stopped caring,” said Wonder Woman as she cracked her knuckles in anticipation. “I don’t want any more of your excuses. I just want to keep punching you until my fists shut you up completely. Then I’m going to use what’s left of you to destroy Ares.”

“You speak with such confidence…for a woman,” said Luthor, despite being disoriented from her attack.

“Shut up!”

Wonder Woman let out another war cry as she unleashed another attack. This time she had no intention of letting up. She flew in at high speeds and struck him across the face with a devastating haymaker. She hit him with such force that she triggered a shockwave that cracked some of the nearby rocks. Once Luthor stumbled back, she didn’t give him a chance to recover. She hit him again, this time with a series of body blows. He tried to counter again, but this time she was ready for him. When he tried to grab her arm, Wonder Woman just hit him with another hard blow to the head to drive him back even farther.

As she struck him, the Annihilator Armor started sparking with flashes of purplish energy. It was similar to the energy that created the portals that led her to these bleak surroundings, but she didn’t care. These sparks were proof that Wonder Woman was doing some damage. The exotic material of the armor didn’t dent, but the energy that drove it was clearly affected by her attacks. She couldn’t tell if it put Lex Luthor in any pain, but it did keep him on the defensive.

Once she drove him back far enough, Wonder Woman went in for the finishing blow. She couldn’t afford to waste too much time with this man. Her sisters needed her.

“Time to end this,” she said sternly.

After hitting him with another hard blow to the head, she retrieved her lasso and used it to restrain the Annihilator Armor before Luthor could regroup. Its power reacted strongly to the energy radiating from the armor. It also triggered a reaction with Luthor.

“Hnn…that power in your lasso,” he said in a somewhat dazed tone. “I like it!”

“You shouldn’t,” said Wonder Woman as she tightened her hold on him. “The magic in my lasso makes it unbreakable, even with your strength. It also compels you to tell the truth.”

“Ah the truth…the most overrated of all concepts,” laughed Luthor, still not intimidated.

“Call it what you will. You’re going to tell me where I can find Ares and where he has taken my sisters!”

“I was going to tell you anyways, but that doesn’t mean I have to make it easy for you.”

Before she could activate the power that would force him to tell the truth, Luthor grabbed hold of the lasso with the Annihilator Armor and gave it a hard tug. It forced Wonder Woman off balance. She also noticed the purplish energy infecting parts of her lasso. It made it difficult to control her lasso. It was as though the Annihilator Armor radiated chaos and corruption.

It led to a bitter tug-of-war and Wonder Woman soon found herself on the losing end. She could see Lex Luthor’s determined expression. The energy radiating from the armor and her lasso created a strange kind of instability. But for some reason, Luthor embraced it.

“You really want the truth?” he taunted as he tugged on the lasso harder. “You really want something so abstract and relative that its meaning is easily lost?”

“Quit…stalling!” said Wonder Woman, wrapping her arm around the lasso and attempting to pull back.

“I’m not stalling. I’m just making good use of something more powerful than truth – something even Ares cannot grasp. I could tell you more, but I’m enjoying this _way_ too much!”

Lex pulled harder on the lasso, causing Wonder Woman to lose her balance. She watched as more of his energy corrupted her lasso. It seemed to corrupt everything around him, causing the rocks to shake and the air to stir. She continued to fight, but the power of the Annihilator Armor was even greater than she expected. She needed a new approach and she needed it before Luthor overpowered her.

Her grip on her lasso was starting to loosen when she felt a familiar gust of wind sweep by her. Moments later, something hit the Annihilator Armor with a force that caused a major tremor to rock the area. It knocked Luthor flat on his back, causing him to lose his grip on the lasso and rendered the armor immobile. Not many forces could accomplish such a feat, but Wonder Woman knew of one in particular that could manage it.

“Bet you didn’t enjoy _that_ , Luthor,” said the imposing voice of Superman as he hovered over the Annihilator Armor.

“But I sure did,” said Wonder Woman with a beaming smile.

Now finally able to catch her breath, Wonder Woman flew up to embrace her lover. Just as she hoped, he found her even in this barren wasteland.

“Sorry I’m a little late. Had a few unexpected obstacles along the way,” said Superman.

“Just a few?” teased Wonder Woman.

“Still not enough,” he said. “You were in less trouble than I expected.”

“I hope you weren’t expecting to rescue me. I had this fight under control.”

“I know you did. But this pennant you gave me didn’t let me slow down. As soon as I heard Lex Luthor’s voice, I just knew it had to be way worse than I thought. How is he even involved?”

“I don’t know, but this is a good time to ask him,” said Wonder Woman in a more serious tone.

They cut their reunion short and turned their attention back to the Annihilator Armor, which was still lying motionless on the ground. Wonder Woman’s lasso was still wrapped around it. The armor kept giving off this strange purplish energy that kept reacting with the magic in her lasso. It was just one of the many questions they had and this was their chance to get real answers.

“All right, Luthor. I wasn’t expecting to have to deal with you, but I’ve learned to never be surprised by your antics. I guess it was only a matter of time before you got caught up with actual gods,” said Superman as he now hovered right over his chest.

“Gods…you actually call them that?” said Luthor, his voice oddly disheveled within the armor. “I was hoping you were better than that.”

“I’m getting less interested in asking nicely and more interested in beating the answers out of him,” said Wonder Woman, giving her lasso a hard tug to add to Luthor’s discomfort.

“I’d listen to the lady if I were you, Luthor. She can be _very_ persuasive.”

“Guess…you would know,” he said curtly. “How can you call yourself Superman…when you let a woman lead you to ruin?”

“I’m ready to start _persuading_ , Superman,” said Wonder Woman with growing impatience.

“And I’m ready to get this over with. So what do you say we make this easy and you just give us what we want, Luthor?”

The glowing energy around the Annihilator Armor intensified, becoming more unstable. The image of Lex Luthor’s face flickered within this energy. It was hard to tell if he was in discomfort or just completely mad. Superman and Wonder Woman stood ready to extract the answers from him in any way they could. Then, to their surprise, Lex’s image stabilized and he smiled.

“I couldn’t agree more, Superman,” he said.

In an unexpected show of power, he grasped the lasso with the hand of the Annihilator Armor and pulled Wonder Woman away from him. Then, with Superman still hovering over him, he channeled the purplish energy radiating from the armor into a concentrated beam and directed it right at the Man of Steel. As soon as it struck him, it had a unique effect that caught him completely off guard.

“Aagh!” gasped Superman. “What did you…do to me?”

“Wait for it,” grinned Luthor.

Superman soon found himself completely surrounded by this purplish energy. It rendered him paralyzed, causing every muscle in his body to tense to the point where he could barely move. It also made him feel sick, like the power within his body was being redirected and warped. It was similar to the feeling he got at Helion Solar, but a million times worse.

“Superman!” gasped Wonder Woman. “What the hell did you do to him, Luthor?”

“I just gave him what he wanted – answers,” he said curtly. “You, on the other hand – well, you’ll have to find out the hard way.”

Her first instinct was to assault Luthor until there was nothing left of him or the Annihilator Armor, but her concern for her lover took hold. She tried to get to him, but the energy surrounding him wouldn’t allow her. It was like an invisible hand pushing back at her, keeping her from aiding him. As she watched the way it consumed and overwhelmed him, Wonder Woman came to a painful realization. She just played right into Ares’ hands yet again.

As the glowing energy grew brighter, Superman felt his body become rigid and stiff. His tried to fight it, but his muscles wouldn’t let him. He eventually fell from the air, landing on his knees right next to Luthor. Once he was rendered fully immobile, the purplish energy formed another portal right behind him. And from this portal, Ares emerged.

“Ah…right on cue,” said Ares with an approving smile. “I do love it when pawns dutifully play their role.”

“ARES!” yelled Wonder Woman. “DON’T YOU DARE TOUCH HIM!”

Upon seeing the God of War, Wonder Woman immediately took to the air and tried to attack. Ares didn’t flinch in the slightest. He just casually swatted her away with one hand, striking her with enough force to send her flying back a good hundred feet or so. It was a satisfying feeling for Ares. The former Amazon Princess had officially completed her role.

“I’m disappointed in you, Diana. And to think, I once wanted you to be my champion,” said Ares as he leered over Superman.

“Ungh…you think…I’m defeated, Ares?” groaned Wonder Woman as she staggered back to her feet. “I will never…stop fighting you!”

“Then you’re a waste of a perfectly good warrior,” he retorted. “You might have actually had a place in my war, but you just _had_ to be so weak. You just _had_ to fall in love with this man. All you did was make it harder on yourself because he’s about to fire the first shot of my ultimate war.”

Ares grabbed Superman by the neck and held him down in a submissive hold. The powerful mortal fought back, causing the energy surrounding him to flicker. But he could not free himself from the power of the gods. He was going to be the soldier he wanted whether he liked it or not.

“Diana…” said Superman weakly under Ares’ grip.

“Save your strength. You’re going to need it,” said Ares. “Say goodbye to your lover while you at it. Don’t get too emotional though. Your role in this war is her fault. She led you here for me. Everything that happens to you from here on out…is her doing.”

The way he talked about his lover and the way he held him down made Superman struggle more, but it was still no use. He could not break Ares’ powerful grip on him. Just as Wonder Woman regained enough strength to fly towards them, the God of War opened another portal and entered it with Superman in hand.

“You know what to do, Luthor. Try not to enjoy yourself too much,” said Ares before he disappeared.

“Don’t expect me to try very hard,” said Luthor in bemusement as he rose up.

Wonder Woman still tried desperately to reach her lover in time, but she didn’t even get halfway before they disappeared. The last thing she saw was Superman’s desperate gaze. It pained her enough that she couldn’t confront Ares for what he did to her sisters, but it pained her even more knowing that she just led the man she loved into his clutches.

“NOOO!” she cried out, falling to her knees right near where they disappeared.

She now had no idea where Ares took him. She couldn’t imagine what kind of horrors he would release or what kind of suffering he would inflict on Superman. All those feelings of helplessness and despair from her nightmares became very real.

“Kal…I’m so sorry,” she cried. “You…you don’t deserve this fate. No man deserves it.”

“Oh enough with the self-righteous pity already! You’re making me sick,” scoffed Luthor, the shadow of the Annihilator Armor now looming over her once more. “What kind of warrior are you? Crying over a man you thought you loved?”

Wonder Woman’s despair quickly turned into blind rage at Luthor’s harsh words. She could feel his snide grin, taunting her defeated state. Defeat for an Amazon was hard enough, but this man wouldn’t let her be content with mere defeat.

“I’ve always found love to be laughably insipid,” Luthor went on. “Two powerful beings falling in love – the concept itself is asinine. It’s just power seeking more power. It’s not emotion. It’s physics.”

“Luthor…whatever point you think you’re making, I promise I’ll make you regret it!” said Wonder Woman in a low tone seething with rage.

“I doubt you two truly loved each other. You only loved being around more power,” he continued. “Isn’t that all false gods truly care about? Maintaining and propagating their power? In that respect, you’re no better than Ares. At least he seeks power through cunning. You seek it through false emotions. That doesn’t make you a warrior. That just makes you a _whore_.”

That was the last straw. Lex Luthor crossed one too many lines. Wonder Woman clenched her fists, every bit of pain and soreness fading in face of her hatred for this man. She might not be able to take her frustrations out on Ares, but Lex Luthor was the next best thing.

“ERRRR! I’LL KICK YOUR ASS TO THE FARTHEST ENDS OF TARTARUS, LUTHOR!” she roared.

“That’s the spirit. Get angry!” said Luthor as he prepared himself. “It’ll take us both exactly where we want to go.”

The enraged Amazon unleashed another attack on Luthor and the Annihilator Armor. This time hit him so hard she sent him flying into the darkened skies above. She then took to the air and went after him, striking him again. It caused more energy to erupt from the armor. It was damaging, but it didn’t bother Luthor in the slightest.

This was the point where his plan diverged from Ares. The God of War expected him to carry out one role. He intended to play another. Unlike before, he didn’t attempt to fight back against Wonder Woman’s wrath. He just let her lay into him, striking with all the might of a raging Amazon. As he absorbed her attack, he began leading her in a certain direction. The only obstacle at this point was timing and knowing Superman, Lex Luthor would have plenty to work with.

_‘Pathetic. These false gods and demigods are even easier to manipulate than ordinary humans. I really need to stop overestimating them. No matter. Soon enough, they’ll all be humbled by the genius that is Lex Luthor.’_

* * *

**Tartarus – Tomb of Erebus**

Superman didn’t remember much about what happened between Lex Luthor hitting him with that strange energy and Ares dragging him through this strange portal. His body and mind were so paralyzed that he lost all sense of perspective. It wasn’t until he felt Ares throw his stiff body onto the hard ground that he regained his awareness.

As his vision cleared, he now found himself in another part of Tartarus. It was very different from the vast wasteland before. This place felt even colder and darker, like a cave within a cave. Looking up, he saw a massive pyramid-shaped mound that put any manmade pyramids to shame. It had to be the size of a small mountain, but it was clearly not natural. The rock was dark and had a distinct metallic sheen, as if it had been refined and polished. Surrounding the mountain was a massive gate-like structure that completely encircled the mound. This gate emitted a distinct bluish glow, providing the only source of light within this dark domain. It gave the impression that nobody, mortal or immortal, should dare enter this area.

Already, Superman sensed there were plenty of trespassers besides himself. It wasn’t just Ares either. With his telescopic vision, he could see some of Ares’ undead forces guarding the gate. He could also see the Amazons standing near the base of the structure. They all wore their battle attire and stood perfectly still side-by-side, their eyes glowing the same purplish color as Ares. The God of War had a lot of forces under his thumb, but he doubted he was satisfied.

As Ares stood next to him and looked up at the massive mound before him, Superman attempted to refocus himself to break this mysterious hold on him. He had never been very good at fighting magic, but that didn’t stop him from trying. Ares seemed to sense his discomfort, but his struggles didn’t bother him in the slightest.

“The Tomb of Erebus – truly a monument to Olympian engineering, is it not?” he said distantly. “Then again, I doubt someone such as you could appreciate it. How could you when you go to such lengths to temper your power?”

“Release me from this spell of yours. I’ll show you how _tempered_ I can be,” said Superman in a menacing tone.

“Your shortcomings are not unlike those of the gods or the titans. They sought to temper the primordial forces that bind our respective realms. Some could be managed. Some could be fought. Some could even be channeled. But Erebus was different. Erebus required a special kind of arrogance.”

Ares grabbed Superman by the neck again and held him up so that he had a better view of the massive tomb. His mortal mind might appreciate the scale of the structure, but it could never comprehend the context.

“Erebus confounded both the gods and the titans. As one of the primordial forces that forged our realms, he is the conscious manifestation of darkness. His shadows are everywhere, but his power is at its greatest when order breaks down. As the son of chaos, his power is a constant stressor on that fragile balance of forces. Both the gods and the titans understood that. Containing Erebus meant ensuring the stability of their order.”

Just talking about order brought back bitter memories of the part Ares played in establishing his father’s order. It was so long ago, but its impact felt so recent. When he fought alongside his father, he believed he was creating the right kind of order. He knew now how wrong he was.

“During the war between the titans and the gods, Erebus came very close to overpowering us both,” Ares continued. “The chaos we created in that conflict made Erebus so strong that we all would’ve been consumed. I urged Zeus to escalate our efforts and make one last desperate push for victory. I believed that we could overcome Erebus. He felt otherwise. As much as it pains me to admit this, he was right.”

“So what makes you think you’re right this time around?” asked Superman, still struggling.

“Because at the time, I was more an immature God of War,” Ares admitted. “I could fight, but not strategize. Zeus proved to me the importance of strategy when he outwitted the titans in a way that surprised us all. Rather than let Erebus overwhelm them both, he forged a special conduit that allowed him to channel Erebus’ darkness. In doing so, the chaos he fueled became ours to control. It proved vital in eventually defeating the titans. But it was what Zeus did after the war that _really_ upset me.”

Ares turned his attention to the Amazons and the army of undead that he now controlled. It was still a remarkable feat, wielding this much power and exerting this much control over these forces that were once so menacing. It proved to him just how wrong his father had been in the end.

“For reasons I still cannot digest, he believed that channeling the power of Erebus was too dangerous. He believed it would destabilize the balance of forces between the realms. So his solution to control it was to create this – the Tomb of Erebus.”

“You don’t sound too fond of it,” said Superman.

“How could I? Father had the power to contain the chaos that plagued the realm of gods and man in his grasp,” said Ares bitterly. “Instead, he threw it away. Using the same conduit that helped us win the war against the titans, he lured Erebus into a massive containment field. He then turned the conduit into a seal so strong that even he couldn’t break it. Together, with Hades and Poseidon, he built this massive tomb in this remote part of Tartarus to contain Erebus. He even created gates that allowed only a select few to even enter this domain.”

“Must not have been high enough,” commented Superman. “You still got through.”

“And I wish I didn’t have to. I spent centuries trying to convince my father that we could better control chaos by tapping Erebus. He stubbornly refused. That didn’t stop me from surmising a way to break the seal, which brings me to why you’re here.”

His grip still on Superman’s neck, the God of War made him look up towards the massive seal on the face of the mound. It was relatively small compared to the rest of the structure, not being much larger than a couple of small buildings. But it was crafted of metals and materials that hadn’t been utilized since the war with the Titans. It alone restrained the power of Erebus. For Ares, it also restrained the key to winning his war.

“While I cannot break the seal, I know what it will take,” he said ominously. “You – the mortal they call Superman – are unique in your ability to turn the light of the sun into raw power. But there are other kinds of light beyond sun that have more _exotic_ properties. Maybe you’ve felt it. Maybe you haven’t. But it’s those properties that will allow me to break this seal.”

Superman had been trying not to listen to more than he had to from this mad god, but the mention of other kinds of light caught his attention. He immediately recalled the experience he had when he visited Helion Solar. That energy he sensed did not feel like normal light, nor did it feel like Kryptonite or that of a red sun. It was something entirely different. It might have been connected, which would’ve created a whole new list of concerns for him. But he couldn’t deal with any of those concerns if he remained under Ares’ control.

“This is where it gets tragic for the both of us,” said Ares. “You see, I originally didn’t seek to disturb this tomb. I didn’t even seek to get you involved like this. I wanted you to become my champion. I wanted you to become a new link between the gods and mortals. You would’ve been the mortal embodiment of war, bringing destruction to those who defied our order and striking fear into the forces that opposed us.”

“By us…you mean you,” said Superman.

“Think what you will of me, but I’ve only ever been concerned with fighting the wars that need to be fought and nothing more. And because of my father’s meddling and Diana’s interference, a much larger war is needed to achieve the victory I seek. For you, that means channeling the light of darkness through you and breaking the seal on the tomb. By releasing Erebus and channeling his power like my father once did, I will unleash a warpath from the Underworld to Olympus to every corner of the mortal realm!”

His grip on Superman’s neck tightened, conveying to him his anticipation and desperation for this war. He could already envision the destruction he would unleash. It would be glorious in a way that no man or god had ever imagined.

This gave Superman even more reason to resist Ares’ control. A war this big would endanger countless innocent people. Neither he nor Diana would be powerful enough to protect everybody. He couldn’t be part of such a barbaric plot.

“You’re…insane!” said Superman, tensing his muscles harder as he fought to regain control.

“Just try to imagine beyond your petty mortal imagination for a moment,” said Ares intently. “A war of this scale, encompassing gods and mortals alike – it’ll reshape the land, weed out the weak, and forge a new order.”

“At…what cost?”

“No cost is too great for such order!” Ares argued. “You of all people should appreciate that. Between my father and the mortals you protect, there are too many petty wars and not enough just wars. You and I are going to change that. And if it costs the lives of a few mortals and gods…so be it.”

The extent to which this monster was willing to harm innocent people and his own fellow gods was disgusting. This has escalated much further than simply dealing with the realm of the gods that was such a big part of his lover’s life. This was about saving the world he and Wonder Woman fought so hard to protect. To do this, he needed to become stronger than a god.

With a strength he once dared not to tap, Superman flexed his muscles again and summoned more power from within. Under Ares’ spell, it felt like the weight of a planet was pressing down on his every muscle. Once he finally had the power, he pushed back as hard as he could.

“No! I won’t help you,” Superman shouted.

In a flash, the glowing purple energy around him burst and he was freed from Ares’ control. This surprised the God of War so much that he didn’t get a chance to block Superman from hitting him with a devastating right cross to the face. Any lesser being would’ve been knocked out. Even a god would’ve felt the sting. But Superman had no intention of stopping there.

Channeling the determination and resolve that Wonder Woman had been teaching him in their time together, Superman didn’t hold back in his assault. As soon as he landed the first punch against Ares, he tried to land another. Moving at speeds that made him appear as just a blur, he struck the God of War with a relentless onslaught of punches. It caused Ares to stammer back, but it hardly subdued him.

“You’re making this…harder…on yourself!” said Ares in annoyance as he attempted to block Superman’s onslaught.

“I…don’t…care!” spat Superman.

His strength actually surprised the God of War. This Superman proved more powerful than he expected. It was annoying, but promising at the same time. He would need that strength soon enough.

He humored Superman’s outburst for a while, letting him strike while blinded by emotions as mortals were prone to do. As Superman attacked, Ares prepared a counter of his own. He wouldn’t have been the God of War if he didn’t prepare for such an inconvenience. Once ready, he skillfully grabbed Superman’s arms before he could strike again and held him back in a powerful grapple.

“This is where your greatest weakness reveals itself, Superman. It’s a weakness I could’ve freed you from,” said Ares as he dug in his heels and pushed back.

“I…don’t…care!” he said again, this time with more force as he relentlessly pushed back.

“You should,” said the God of War with a grin.

Ares’ eyes flashed again, radiating the same exotic energy that once paralyzed him. But this time it had a different effect. As Superman tried to overpower Ares, he heard an angry chorus of war cries behind him. Before he could even turn around, he was blindsided by a devastating blow.

“For Ares!” exclaimed Aleka, her voice devoid of free will.

The sudden attack knocked Superman away from Ares and sent him tumbling towards the base of the tomb. He quickly picked himself up, only to find himself completely surrounded by the entire Amazon army. Aleka, the one who hit him first, led the charge.

As Superman recovered from the initial attack, he recalled his first encounter with the Amazon army. He remembered how hostile they had been. He tried to reason with them, but they refused to listen then. There was little chance they would listen now. He saw in their eyes the same purplish glow he saw in Ares.

“It doesn’t have to be this way,” Superman called out to the Amazons. “I broke Ares’ hold. You can too!”

“No. They cannot,” said Ares confidently. “Like so many mortals, their piety made them vulnerable. Now they are under my control. That means if you want to get to me, you’ll have to go through them. And that means hurting them.”

The extent of Ares’ deviousness knew no pound. As much as these women despised him while in control of their faculties, they were still victims. They were innocent in this ordeal and Superman did not harm innocents. Ares had to know that and wasn’t afraid to exploit it.

“You’re really going to stoop this low, Ares?” Superman called out as he readied himself.

“I’ll do what I must to win my war. That’s what makes me stronger than you. That’s what makes me stronger than you can _ever_ hope to be,” said Ares.

“You call _this_ strength?”

“No. I call it war.”

The Amazons closed in on Superman, ensuring he had no room to escape. Ares didn’t give the order to attack just yet. He gave Superman a chance to take the first shot. As expected, he refused. His asinine sense of morality wouldn’t let him. That made the outcome of this battle all but inevitable.

“Subdue the man. Do not kill him,” ordered Ares. “Show no mercy.”

“No mercy!” the Amazons repeated in perfect unison.

Superman remained in a defensive stance, refusing to attack these victims of Ares’ war. He attempted to take to the air and fly away, but a number of Amazons behind the front lines threw enchanted lassos that wrapped around his feet and kept him from getting more than a few feet off the ground. He tried to pull away, but the collective strength of several Amazons proved too much. With one hard tug, Superman was sent tumbling back to the ground. He could only brace himself as the Amazons converged on him.

Everything that followed became a blur. Some struck with their fists. Others slashed him with their sword. Superman felt his costume and cape tear. He felt cuts and wounds open on his usually invulnerable skin, revealing that Ares had equipped the Amazons with magic weapons. White hot pain soon followed. At one point, all Superman could hear were the angry cries of the Amazon and the sound of them hitting his flesh.

Every one of them wanted a shot. Their hatred of men still fueled their resolve, even under Ares’ control. Superman had little to no chance. He tried to defend himself, but he still refused to strike back. He refused to give Ares the satisfaction of being right.

This didn’t stop Ares from enjoying the show. He couldn’t stop grinning as he watched the Amazons batter the hapless mortal. It didn’t matter what Superman did at this point. He was going to play his part in this war. He just had to choose the path that put him in the most discomfort.

“Pathetic,” said Ares in bemusement. “I can’t believe I wanted him as my champion.”

While the Amazons proceeded to weaken him, Ares made his way to the base of the structure. Near one of the large boulders that lined the base, he came across Hippolyta, who was still in chains. He made sure she had a perfect view of the spectacle. Having nailed her chains to the boulder, she could do nothing but watch as her beloved Amazons carried out his will.

“Please don’t do this, sisters. Do not submit yourself to this mad god’s will!” Hippolyta cried out.

“Quit demeaning yourself, Hippolyta. You lost your authority as queen before I seized control of their spirits,” said Ares. “I doubt they would listen to you, even if you still had your title.”

“You’re wrong! The Amazons are more honorable than this.”

“Are they really?” he questioned. “I actually thought you might enjoy this after watching your daughter battle the Annihilator Armor. Isn’t this exactly the kind of retribution you Amazons seek? To humiliate a man just as you were humiliated?”

To better make his point, he grasped the former Amazon queen by the jaw and forced her to watch. She now had no choice by to see her beloved sisters assault, bludgeon, and humiliate a man who refused to fight back. To Hippolyta, it sickened her in a way that no torment ever could. Seeing the enraged eyes of her sisters and the sheer brutality with which they attacked this man showed no honor or justice. In this act, the Amazons were no longer warriors. They were something far worse.

“At least try to enjoy it,” said Ares with a sneer. “It’s not like this man is completely innocent. This is the same man that stole your daughter’s heart and drove her to exile. If I recall, you wanted to do this to him years ago.”

“No! Not like this. _Nothing_ like this,” said Hippolyta with growing sorrow.

“What if I told you he’s probably had coitus your daughter on more than one occasion?” he added. “The way she fought so hard to save him, she probably enjoyed it _immensely_.”

“It doesn’t matter! I…I never wanted this. I never wanted _anything_ of this!” she cried out.

“Then what recourse would you seek? I’ve heard your prayers. You and your precious Amazons preach such hatred towards man. I just gave them a chance to practice what you preach. Am I really the one at fault here? Even if this isn’t what you wanted, this is what you’ve wrought.”

His words stung almost as much as the terrible sight before her. Hippolyta could not say anything to contest them. Everything Ares said rang true. She and the Amazons built their culture around a rejection and hatred of men. That culture had sustained them for so long that she gave little thought to where it could lead. Now the former Amazon queen had the consequences of these traditions shoved in her face and it disgusted her.

Eventually, Hippolyta’s sorrow overwhelmed her anger. She stopped struggling against Ares. She didn’t even scold him. Her silence only affirmed what Ares already suspected. He finally let go of her and cast her a look of pity.

“Pathetic,” he said, shaking his head. “The gods were wrong to make the Amazons their army. It wouldn’t be the first time they misjudged an army either.”

“You’ve made your point, Ares. I’m a fraud…a hypocrite…a failure,” said Hippolyta solemnly.

“Then take comfort in the knowledge that your Amazons will be much stronger under my rule than they ever were under yours. They’ll be on the front lines of my war. They’ll share in the glory as we lay siege to the realm of mortal and god alike.”

Ares left Hippolyta to wallow in her despair and prepared to take the final step towards launching his war. He let the Amazons rough Superman up for a bit longer, making sure he was too battered and bruised to resist. He still refused to fight back, only defending himself against the onslaught. This pathetic sense of morality left him so bruised and battered that the entire top part of his uniform had been shredded. His pained grunts along with the angry cries of the Amazons were so satisfying, but they were just a prelude.

When Ares finally approached the battered man, the Amazons obediently stepped aside for him. By the time he reached Superman, Aleka still had him in a choke hold. Her anger was particularly potent compared to the other Amazons. She had her sword to his neck, but she did not use it. She remained bound to Ares’ will like the rest of her sisters.

“That’s enough. Let him go,” ordered Ares.

Aleka released him from her grip, allowing Superman to fall limply to the ground. He was still conscious, but utterly defeated. His entire upper body was littered with scratches, wounds, and bruised. Parts of his face were black and blue. Blood dripped from his nose and mouth. At this point, letting the Amazons finish him off would’ve been an act of mercy. But the God of War could afford no such mercy.

“All that punishment and you didn’t throw one punch,” said Ares as he loomed over him. “Tell me Superman, how does such _righteousness_ make you feel?”

Superman didn’t respond. He just spat blood out onto Ares’ foot. He attempted to get up, but he was too weak. He was in no position to fight the God of War, let alone resist the fate that awaited him.

“Don’t worry. Your discomfort won’t last much longer. That I promise you.”

With victory now tantalizingly close, Ares grabbed Superman by the neck again and retrieved the two magic lassos that had been used to keep him from getting away. He then ascended into the bleak skies and flew towards the tomb.

Within moments, they arrived at the seal. It was shaped like a giant lock, acting as the strongest link in the chain that kept Erebus imprisoned. Since it had no key, the only mechanism holding it together was a large diamond-shaped gem in the center. This gem radiated with a power that made it next to unbreakable by mortal or god. That power was destined to give way on this day. Using the lassos he retrieved earlier, he tied Superman to the center of this gem, binding his feet and wrapping tying each wrist individually so he couldn’t struggle. Once secure, he grasped Superman’s face one last time.

“I know you think me mad, Superman. But make no mistake – I do regret that it must come to this,” he told the Man of Steel. “This war only became necessary when beings like you thought a weak order could bring about strong peace.”

Superman didn’t respond at first. He just glared at Ares, showing little fear or despair. He finally managed to send one final message to this deranged god.

“You’ll…lose.”

“And now I regret this just a little bit less,” laughed Ares.

The time had finally come. With Superman in place, the Tomb of Erebus could now be open. The God of War got into position, flying back a few hundred feet from the seal. He remained in a steady hovering position. The first shot of his war could finally be fired.

Armed with his godly strength and the exotic power that he had been wielding since his escape from the Oblivion Prison, he channeled the power directly into the seal. He could feel the energy being generated by Apollo and Persephone from the mortal world. It flowed through him like a conduit, connecting the mortal realm and the realm of the gods. It proved strenuous, even for him. But the God of War would not relent, building up the energy until he could unleash it in the form of a concentrated beam. The blast lit up the bleak pits of Tartarus, creating a spark that would surely be felt from Olympus to the Underworld.

“Awaken Erebus!” proclaimed Ares. “Unleash your chaos and destroy this frail order once and for all. Come to me and we should build a new one for mortal and god alike!”

The first thing he heard was Superman letting out a pained cry. The second thing he heard was the gem fracturing under the power. As the cracks formed, the entire mound began to shake. After centuries of being entombed, this agent of pure chaos was ready to fuel his war. There would be no more need for cunning and deceit. From here on out, war in its purest form would reign supreme.

* * *

**Up next: Allied Hearts**


	17. Allied Hearts

**Strangers In Paradise**   
**Chapter 17: Allied Hearts**

* * *

**Helion Solar Test Range – Earlier**

_“We’re broadcasting at full power. We’ll be ready to activate the convergence matrix in ten minutes, Mr. Disole,”_ said the lead engineer through a communications link.

“You have fifteen just in case,” said Apollo in the form of Alfanso Disole. “No need to rush. Let’s make sure we get this right.”

_“Understood, sir.”_

It must have been jarring, a powerful authority figure not making unreasonable demands on his subordinates. Unlike his father, Apollo learned in dealing with mortals how ineffective such practices were. It was remarkable how obedient and competent these mortals could be if they were given the mere illusion of respect. It was pathetic in some ways, but it got the job done.

After making sure all the Cerberus Generators were working at full capacity, Apollo let the oblivious mortals take care of the more menial tasks. They all still thought this was just an advanced solar energy experiment. It would’ve been so humorous if it weren’t so effective. The illusion of freedom and progress was often just as effective as the real thing. In some cases, it was even more effective. These mortals had no idea that they were about to seal their fate as subjects of a new order.

He and Persephone now stood in front the large window overlooking the central area of the test range. The sun was just starting to rise over the mountains in the distance, illuminating the massive structure that had since emerged from the old missile silo underground. This magnificent structure was the culmination of his efforts in the mortal world. The design might have belonged to Ares, but Apollo made sure its function did more than just power his half-brother’s war machine.

Power from the Cerberus Generators was already flowing into it. He could see it in the glowing light that was forming in the center. He could also feel it in the way it affected the light around him. He imagined that Ares could feel it too. He must have felt quite empowered. If he was at all wise, he would enjoy it while it lasted. Apollo was already celebrating his own personal triumph, having opened a bottle of Olympian wine.

“Are you sure you don’t want a drink before the show begins, Persephone?” asked Apollo, offering her a glass. “I went through quite a lot of trouble to _borrow_ this bottle from the personal cellar of Dionysus.”

“I’ll pass,” she said flatly.

“Suit yourself,” he shrugged. “Good wine makes any triumph more fulfilling. I guess some of us just can’t handle such feelings.”

“I’ve been Queen of the Underworld for centuries. I’ve lived a good chunk of my immortal life moving between my husband’s bleak domain and my mother’s warm embrace. I’m more experienced in these feelings than you can possibly imagine.”

“Which makes your lack of enthusiasm all the more tragic,” said Apollo.

“Call it what you will. I refuse to share your confidence until this is over. There are so many things I want to discuss with my mother once we’re reunited. She will definitely be upset with me for my part in all this. I’d like to start dealing with that before I dare enjoy this new order.”

Apollo shook his head in pity and poured himself another glass. Persephone ignored his conniving gaze. He couldn’t begin to understand her motivations. Anything that wasn’t shamelessly self-serving didn’t resonate with him. She didn’t doubt for a second that he had far more selfish ambitions once this was over. She could care less about them. The only thing that mattered to her was breaking the endless cycle that kept her from her mother.

The Queen of the Underworld made her goals very clear from the beginning. Her willingness to bend and break certain rules, along with the authority she wielded, made her one of the most important assets in this endeavor. Apollo never doubted her sincerity, but he doubted she could ever appreciate the scale of their efforts.

“Do you know what I’ve learned in observing the mortals?” said Apollo as he swirled the wine in his glass.

“Are you about to begin another one of your elaborate arguments on why you’re so much better than me?” asked Persephone. “If so, spare me the details and get to the part where you use it to insult me.”

“It’s no argument, I assure you. It’s an honest inquiry,” he retorted. “Too many Olympians lost interest in the affairs of mortals once they stopped worshipping them. They might know of the progress, or lack thereof, that mankind has made in that time. But they can’t bring themselves to care about it.”

“And you do?”

“Only to the extent that it reveals a telling truth,” said Apollo. “Mortals are remarkable in their capacity for reasoned enlightenment and blissful ignorance. There are so few absolutes with them. For gods like us, that sounds so asinine because we exist in a world of absolutes. Sure, it leads mortals into the kind of petty disputes that hinder their progress, but somehow they find a way to move forward.”

“You sound like you admire them,” said Persephone.

“Admiration is a relative term among gods. I like to think I admire the mortals more than any god on Olympus dares, but only to the extent that I appreciate their struggles. They might not be able to grasp absolutes, but they constantly seek it. They create their own gods to worship. They seek to understand forces they cannot possibly comprehend. Whereas some might see that as childish, I see it as an opportunity.”

Apollo looked down at his wine for a moment. This magnificent fruit of the vine that came from one of his fellow gods was just one of the many absolutes that Olympus achieved regularly. Mortals made wine too, but they never made it as well as the gods. That didn’t stop them from trying though. It revealed in them a nature that no god had ever dared to exploit.

“Mortals are capable of great accomplishments, but they rarely succeed because they waste so much time over whose authority matters,” he continued. “That’s why they need gods to worship. They need assurance that there’s an ultimate authority. They need it the way a child needs a parent.”

“And you think you and Ares can fill that role?” scoffed Persephone.

“I think any god on Olympus could do a much better job. Just look at what the mortals have resorted to. They place their faith in flawed philosophies and inept institutions. Then, these super-powered beings with god-like abilities come along and they don’t even make an effort to forge a better order. It’s a complete and utter waste – one that we can make right if all goes according to plan.”

“I don’t care how well the plan goes. If it means I can stop living under these inane decrees, then I couldn’t care less what you do to the mortals. Make them slaves for all I care. I just want this to be over so I can be free of these petty conflicts.”

Apollo just shook his head. Persephone was so indifferent at this point. He expected as such from a woman whose spirit had been hardened by centuries in the Underworld. He could always count on embittered gods to go along with such a bold and dangerous endeavor. Persephone had been as embittered as Ares in many ways. They were so jaded by their role in the current order. That actually put him in the best possible position because he stood to gain the most.

He finished his wine and continued watching the convergence matrix, as his mortal subordinates called it. As the light of dawn continued to spread across the land, he saw more parts of it light up with activity. Being the God of Light, he could actually feel its power growing with each passing second. He imagined Ares felt it too and was probably enjoying it even more. He almost pitied the God of War and the former Queen of the Underworld because they had no idea what fate had in store for them.

_‘It’s a tragedy worthy of Homer himself – an entire pantheon of gods blinded by desperation. It almost makes me feel lonely, being the only god of such balanced perspective. Ares thinks he knows what to expect when we open the Gate of Eos. He has no idea and neither does Persephone. It’s already too late for them. There’s nothing at this point that can stop what the fates had decreed.’_

Everything appeared to be unfolding as planned. Persephone was already ignoring him. She was probably going over everything she wanted to discuss with her mother in her mind. Apollo let her entertain that fantasy. Once the Gate of Eos was opened, she would have far more pressing concerns and so would the rest of the mortal world.

The God of Light was about to pour himself another glass of wine in hopes of being in the perfect state of mind when the big moment came. He almost dropped the bottle when the communicator he had in his pocket started buzzing.

 _“Mr. Disole! We have a situation,”_ said an urgent voice.

“This had better be a mistake,” groaned Apollo.

Setting his wine and glass aside, he answered the call.

“What is it and how quickly can it be fixed?” he said impatiently.

_“Um…I’m not entirely sure. My tech team and I were about to evacuate when we started getting this strange interference from some of the generators.”_

“What kind of interference?” asked Apollo, already annoyed.

_“We’re trying to figure that out. Whatever it is, it’s causing some fluctuations in the output. It’s like something is hijacking the resonance frequencies.”_

Apollo rushed back to the main interface he had been utilizing earlier. He quickly confirmed what the lead technician was saying. There was indeed some kind of anomaly occurring with the Cerberus Generators. They were still going strong and channeling plenty of energy into the Gate of Eos. However, this sort of anomaly wasn’t something that occurred through simple mechanical error. This was deliberate. Someone was foolish enough to try and tamper with fate.

“Is there something wrong, Apollo?” asked Persephone, now taking a keen interest in this development.

“Nothing that can’t be fixed, my dear,” assured Apollo. “Come with me. I suspect we have some unwelcome _pests_ in our midst. If we don’t stop them soon, then it’ll disrupt things on our end – but it’ll disrupt things even more for Ares.”

* * *

**Tomb of Erebus – Present Time**

It was really happening. The seal on the Tomb of Erebus was breaking. Ares could feel the whole structure shake and crack. Centuries of chaos and darkness was just begging to be released. With the energy flowing through him from the mortal world, he could channel it in ways that no god or titan ever dared. The war he had been seeking for centuries was finally within his grasp.

“Aaaahhhhhhhhhhh!” cried Superman as the dark energy from the seal flowed through him.

His pained cries echoed throughout this darkest pit of Tartarus. Ares cared little for his suffering. He was surprised he hadn’t perished by now. Between the beating the Amazons gave him and the strain of the dark energy, he should be dead by now. It didn’t matter whether he lived or died through this. Once he had the power of Erebus at his whim, no mortal or god could stop him.

“Yes! I can feel the chaos stirring within. It’s so restless – so eager. It wants me as much as I want it,” said Ares, brimming with anticipation. “I doubt you can hear me at this point, Superman, but you’re _not_ going to want to survive this. I doubt you’ll enjoy what I’m about to unleash!”

More cracks formed in the seal. The whole tomb appeared ready to shatter. Ares stood ready to savor this moment for the rest of his immortal life.

Then, this profound moment was interrupted when the energy surrounding Superman pulsated strangely. For a moment, it stopped glowing with the same purplish radiance as before and flashed yellow, which had a very different effect on Superman.

“Errrr! New…energy. Getting…stronger,” grunted the Man of Steel from his bound state.

“This…should not be,” said Ares. “Damn it, Apollo! This better not be another one of your tricks!”

The God of War was about to intervene. He had to make sure Superman didn’t regain enough strength to escape the seal. But just as he was about to act, another unexpected complication arose. It came in the form of an unexpected figure crashing near the base of the tomb. When Ares looked down, he saw that it was the Annihilator Armor. Given the power he placed within that armor, this shouldn’t have been possible.

“Lex Luthor! You seek to annoy me as well?” groaned Ares.

“Not just him,” came a menacing voice.

He recognized that voice instantly and his annoyance turned to outright anger. Now flying towards him, battered but far from beaten, Wonder Woman approached him. She shouldn’t have been able to defeat the Annihilator Armor. She shouldn’t have even been able to find her way to the Tomb of Erebus. Something had gone horribly awry with his battle plan. Ares didn’t know who was responsible, but he had no intention of letting it stop his war.

“Princess Diana – or ex-Princess as it were,” said the God of War.

“Hello Ares – or God of Pissing Me Off, as it were,” said Wonder Woman angrily. “Your little pawn has failed. Your war ends _now_!”

“That’s _not_ going to happen,” he said firmly.

“Allow me to list the reasons why you’re dead wrong. First, you team up with Lex Luthor of all people. Second, you attack my home and my sisters. Third, you take the man I love and use him to unleash a power you can’t possibly control. Do I need to list anymore?”

“Aren’t you forgetting one important reason?” said Ares, pointing down towards the base of the mound.

Wonder Woman saw what he was referring to. Her mother, yet another loved one that Ares turned into a pawn, was still chained to a boulder. She had noticed her arrival as well and was not as glad to happy to see her again as she had hoped.

“Diana!” Hippolyta cried out. “You must get away from the seal! It’s going to break at any moment!”

“You had best listen to your mother, Diana,” taunted Ares.

“Says the man who tricked his own mother and imprisoned his father,” scoffed Wonder Woman.

“No. Says the _god_ whose power you can’t hope to match.”

“I don’t care if you’re a god, a titan, or a man. You hurt the ones I love. I’ll fight you! I’ll beat you! I’ll exact justice!”

Disregarding every prayer she and the Amazons had ever made to the God of War, Wonder Woman attacked Ares. She attempted to strike him with the same strength and tenacity she used against the Annihilator Armor. However, the beating she took earlier showed because it was nowhere near strong enough.

Still glowing with the dark energy that had helped him win this battle thus far, Ares easily blocked the former princess’ attack and grabbed her arm. He then struck her with a devastating haymaker, sending her crashing back down to the rugged terrain below. He doubted that blow would stop her, but it sent a clear message. And Superman seemed to get it as well.

“No…Diana!” yelled Superman, more strength returning to him as he fought his restraints.

“She’s okay…relatively speaking,” said Ares. “If you’re at all wise, you’ll die now because you’re not going to want to see how your precious love meets her end.”

The energy around Superman kept flickering between a purplish and yellowish hue. It delayed and destabilized the energy from the seal while reinvigorating Superman in a way Ares did not intend. But that didn’t matter. Time and tactics were still on his side. As he watched Wonder Woman pick herself up from the ground, he prepared to remind her why he was the God of War.

“You’re fighting a battle you know you can’t win, Diana. While I normally give my opponents a chance to surrender, you’ve become too much of an annoyance,” said the God of War.

“Good! Saves me the trouble of telling you to piss off,” grunted Wonder Woman as she stammered to her feet.

“And as much as I would enjoy snapping your neck in front of your mother, I think that would be too merciful. I’d much rather see you die at the hands of your precious sisters.”

Using the same power he used earlier against Superman, Ares commanded the entire Amazon army whose spirits were still at his mercy. Their eyes all flashed simultaneously upon receiving the order and without hesitation, they formed a line in front of Wonder Woman. He made it so that in order to get to him, Superman, or her mother, she had to go through the very sisters she abandoned.

For the angry yet sore Wonder Woman, it was the cruelest tactic Ares could’ve used. She could still hear Superman’s pained cries from above. She could see her bound mother in the distance. Defeating the Annihilator Armor had been daunting enough. The idea of defeating her sisters overwhelmed her to the point where she could not attack.

“Ares…you coward!” yelled Wonder Woman. “Come down here…and face me.”

“Nothing would make me happier, but my disdain for you is nothing compared to your sisters. I may control their spirits, but I can sense just how much they _despise_ you. You abandoned them for a man. You spit on the Amazon Code. Believe me when I say they want this more than I do.”

“You…lie. My sisters…hate submission…more than they could ever…hate me.”

“Tell yourself whatever you want to make this less painful. It won’t change the outcome,” said Ares. “You will not stop my war. You are a great warrior, Diana. But even great warriors know when a battle is lost.”

There was a painful twinge of truth to his words. Wonder Woman stood ready to fight as the Amazon army approached. Not surprisingly, Aleka led the charge. She had archers behind her ready to shoot. She also had Amazons armed with lassos near her, making clear that they would not allow her to fly over them. They had no intention of letting her through. They would fight to the death for Ares, but that wasn’t the most daunting part of the battle before her.

Beyond the glowing purple hue in their eyes, Wonder Woman could see the betrayal and anger they still had for her. They hadn’t forgotten what she did and they hadn’t forgiven her either. Now that they were under Ares’ control, she had little chance of reasoning with them or seeking forgiveness.

“My sisters…please don’t do this,” Wonder Woman begged.

“For Ares!” yelled Aleka.

Once again, Wonder Woman’s instincts to fight clashed with the love she still had for her sisters. She wasn’t sure what to do. She looked up towards Superman, who had yet to free himself from the seal. Then, she looked towards her mother, who hadn’t freed herself either. It left her paralyzed at the worst possible moment.

She braced herself as her sisters, true to their Amazon training, charged towards her in perfect harmony. But before they could reach her, dozens of sharpened spears came falling from the sky. They all landed about 50 feet from where Wonder Woman was standing, the sharpened tips penetrating the jagged rock and forming a fence-like barrier between her and her charging sisters. More instincts kicked in and the charging line of Amazons stopped their attack, only to see more spears rain down on the area. Before long, a significant barrier had formed that confounded both the Amazons and Ares.

“More treachery!” exclaimed the God of War. “What is it this time?”

His answer came in the form of a voice he thought he would never hear again. From the darkened skies above, a voice rang out as a new force descended upon the Tomb of Erebus.

“Ares! The Sons of Leuctra have returned. In the name of justice, we bring the might of the last Spartans!”

The God of War was not easily surprised. Being surprised in battle was the first step towards defeat. But hearing the voice of King Agesilaus III and his army of Spartans, each of which possessed the strength and durability of an Amazon, struck him in a way his battle plan had not accounted for.

They descended from the skies riding chariots being carried by Pegasus horses. There were hundreds of them, their numbers matching that of the Amazons. Some flew towards Ares and some flew towards the still trapped Hippolyta, but most landed behind the line of spears they had formed in front of Wonder Woman. As soon as they stepped out of their chariots, they formed a line between her and the Amazons. Some headed towards where Hippolyta was still changed while King Agesilaus went right for Ares, his sword and shield ready for battle.

It shouldn’t have been possible. This man and his army shouldn’t have been alive, nor should they have been in a position to attack him. The God of War didn’t have time to be shocked. He also didn’t need much to figure out who was responsible for this. Turning around towards Superman, he saw that the Man of Steel had a knowing grin on his face.

“You…you did this!” he exclaimed. “But how?”

“Don’t act surprised, Ares,” said Superman curtly, despite the discomfort from the energy flowing through him. “Commit enough atrocities…upset enough people…and justice will eventually catch up with you.”

* * *

**Alcyoneus Graves – Earlier**

Some of the hardest parts about being Superman had little to do with managing the power he wielded or overcoming the challenges he faced. Fighting monsters, aliens, and misguided humans was actually the easiest part. The parts he often struggled with involved trust. While he had faith in humanity as a whole, he found it difficult to trust others to do the right thing.

Ever since his parents died, he had been reluctant in giving his trust, both as Superman and as Clark Kent. Diana was the first person since his parents that he allowed himself to trust implicitly. In doing so, he remembered that trust often came with great reward. Diana’s love was a testament to just how great those rewards could be. In order to save her and her family, he had to push that trust to new limits. But even when the limits seemed overwhelming, Superman could take comfort in the knowledge that sometimes incentives were just as powerful as trust.

_“Listen to me and listen closely, mortal. What I’m about to tell you is blasphemy in the highest order. Revealing the secrets of Olympus is a crime that carries punishments even gods cannot escape. Just ask Prometheus. But if you really want to have a chance at defeating Ares – or at least making it difficult for him – you’ll need to throw one of his worst kept secrets back in his face. That’s why you need to find and free the Sons of Leuctra.”_

Superman remembered Hera’s strong words. Even though she was cut off from Olympus, she still chose her words carefully. While she didn’t come off as trustworthy, the former Queen of Olympus had a lot of incentive to defeat Ares. That gave him enough reasons to trust accept her help and that led him to this desolate valley in an isolated part of Tartarus that no one had entered in centuries.

_“You don’t need to know the long, convoluted story behind them. You just need to know is that they’re an army of elite Spartan warriors – the very last, as it were. Like the Amazons, they were endowed with the same blessings of immortality and strength. And also like the Amazons, they have a very good reason for despising Ares. He’s the reason why their bodies and spirits were trapped Alcyoneus Graves centuries ago. Free them and they will gladly help you.”_

She made it sound easy. She never described just how difficult it would be. As soon as he entered through the Gates of Tartarus on Themyscira, he followed the Pennant of Athena through the vast, treacherous landscape. It was akin navigating through a hurricane. Tartarus was like a more crowded version of the Phantom Zone. It was teaming with hordes of monsters and beasts, all of which Hera said were under Ares’ control. The pennant’s power kept him concealed so that he didn’t have to fight his way through them. But this ended up being the easy part.

As he made his way deeper into the vast wasteland, he followed the directions that Hera gave him. That meant taking a detour into a shadowy domain that she claimed existed between the Underworld and Elysium Fields. Flying into this domain was like flying into a black hole. All notions of direction, gravity, and depth became obscure. But within this void was a narrow valley nestled between two great chasms that extended beyond what even his telescopic vision could see. From a distance, the valley had the look and design of a mass grave. As he flew in closer, he could tell it was occupied.

It was a ghastly sight, but it none-the-less proved that Hera had been telling the truth. Her directions were accurate in that they led him to the grave containing this lost army of warriors. If the rest of her story was to be trusted, Superman needed them to be as strong as she claimed.

_“Make no mistake. This is not a pleasant place for any soul. This valley was the birthplace of the eldest of the Thracian giants. The gods laid waste to it in the worst possible way to ensure none like them re-emerged again. That’s what made it the perfect grave. Most of the gods know about it, but few know how to get to it. And even if they did, Ares placed a barrier on it similar the one protecting Themyscira. Only those whose power exceeds his own can pierce it. Thankfully, I am his mother and his queen. That’s why I’m going to imbue my crown with a trace of my godly power. It should allow you to break it. You might even find a few other uses for it. After you free these men – well, let’s just say the problems will start solving themselves.”_

Superman wasn’t sure what Hera meant by that, but he couldn’t let uncertainty slow him down. As he approached the valley, he noticed a mystical shroud forming over it. He flew in as close as he could until he felt the force of the barrier pressing back. Being inexperienced in magic, such forces were difficult to understand. This marked the point where his trust in Hera had to give way to faith.

“Diana and her sisters had a lot of faith in you, Hera. For her, I’m willing to share that faith,” he said distantly.

Superman retrieved the crown that Hera gave him before he left. It was still glowing with a steady greenish aura, radiating a power every bit as mysterious as the shroud protecting the valley. With time not on his side and caution a luxury he couldn’t afford, he took a leap of faith and held it up to the shroud.

At first, he felt a wave of force push him back, like an invisible brick wall forming right in front of him. Superman instinctively resisted and kept holding the crown out in front of him, letting the power within the crown do what needed to be done. For a moment, the two forces clashed and opposed one another, as though the opposing wills of Ares and Hera fueled them. Eventually, Hera’s won out. When the barrier from the shroud stopped pushing back, it shattered like glass.

It unfolded in a spectacle that briefly lit up the desolate valley. The energy from Hera’s crown infected the shroud, causing it to flash brightly for a moment and flicker like a candle about to be blown out. When it finally faded, a strange gust rushed out from the valley. It didn’t feel cold and hostile like the many other gusts Superman had felt in Tartarus. This felt different. This felt like a warm fire emerging in the midst of a frozen wasteland. Shortly after this gust past, Superman heard a faint voice within the valley.

“By the gods,” it said. “We are…free?”

It sounded confused and desperate. With the shroud no longer in his way, Superman followed it into the valley. As he flew over it, he saw that this valley was more than just a mass grave. Hundreds of headstones lined rows of mud and dirt. Each stone was engraved with Greek symbols, not unlike the ones he saw on Themyscira. He also noticed dozens of structures resembling mausoleums spread out across the valley. They appeared far too large to hold soldiers, but Superman didn’t have time to explore.

“Hello? Is someone there?” Superman called out.

He didn’t get a response at first, but he could hear the sound of desperate breathing. He followed it to the center of this massive graveyard, eventually tracing it to the largest headstone in the valley. That’s where he found a desperate man digging his way through the thick mud of his own grave, emerging from what had to have been a very unpleasant awakening.

Superman landed just as the man fully emerged from the mud. He was tall and heavily muscled, bearing all the features of a tough and well-trained warrior. He wore the full-bodied armor of a Spartan, complete with a chest plate, gloves, and armor studded boots. He had long hair and a messy beard. It looked like he had just come from an arduous battle, but he had clearly been trapped in this valley for a very long time.

When he first saw Superman, a lifetime of warrior instincts kicked in. Despite being weak and disoriented, he took a defensive stands and prepared to fight.

“Who are you? Are you an agent of Ares?” the man replied.

“No. I’m not,” said Superman, holding his hands up in a peaceful gesture. “My name is Kal-El. Others call me Superman. And I’m not here to fight you.”

“Ha! No man or beast ventures into this hell without seeking a fight. And I assure you that I – King Agesilaus III – will give you any fight you seek.”

Superman groaned. These Spartans were just as belligerent as the Amazons. They always assumed somebody was looking for a fight. He had to be careful with his words. He didn’t need a repeat of what happened with the Amazons.

“Please – your highness – I did enter this domain seeking a fight, but not with you. I’m here because of Hera. She told me you could help me fight a battle against Ares.”

“Hera? Ares? You seek to battle the God of War at the behest of the God of Womanhood?” said the Spartan King.

“Yes. And I’m told you have just as many reasons to win this battle as I do.”

The Spartan remained apprehensive, but his demeanor eventually eased. This man was clearly not an agent of Ares. Nobody would venture into this forbidden domain and let them awaken after the God of War went to such lengths to trap them in this doomed fate. He might not be a god, but he had to have the strength to be standing before him like this.

Upon letting his battle instincts wane, his legs collapsed and he fell to his knees. He finally allowed himself to catch his breath and calm himself amidst this sudden awakening. In doing so, he recalled what led him and his men to such a grim fate.

“What you heard is a divine understatement,” said King Agesilaus III. “Ares – the god that generations of Spartans once worshipped – betrayed us. He…he shattered our spirits with the force of 1,000 lost battles.”

“Yeah, I’ve noticed that. He’s clearly not afraid of betraying friends and family,” said Superman, thinking back to Hera’s attitude towards the God of War.

“But betrayal alone wasn’t enough,” said the Spartan, still holding his head low. “My brothers and I – we were Sparta’s last hope. We – the remaining elites of the Spartan Army – came together on the eve of the Battle of Leuctra. My father, who led the charge in that battle, refused to see what so many others had already noticed. Sparta’s power was waning. The glory that once made us the most powerful city-state in all of Greece was fast becoming a memory. I knew as well as he did that if Sparta lost that battle, then that glory would be gone forever. And since my father wouldn’t listen to reason, my brothers and I turned to the gods for salvation.”

The Spartan King gazed at his hands, which were still covered in mud and dirt. On his wrist was a special brand that every one of his brothers shared. This brand represented the mark of Ares, the god that was supposed to deliver them from annihilation. Instead, he only sealed their doom.

“Our prayers were answered in the ruins of a temple just outside of Sparta. Ares came to us and offered to grant us the strength we needed to win this battle and every other battle from that day forward,” he continued.

“That sounds just like what the gods did for the Amazons,” said Superman.

“It is,” the Spartan King affirmed. “This came shortly after the Amazons were granted the same blessings. And like them, Ares imbued us with the immortality, strength, and durability that would ensure Sparta’s survival for generations to come. However, like all blessings from the gods, there was a price to be paid. My brothers and I couldn’t have possibly known just how high that price could be.”

King Agesilaus III closed his eyes and recalled that exact moment when Ares blessed them. In an instant, he and his brothers felt the strength and fortitude of an entire army. They felt strong enough to take on every army in the world. But Ares didn’t even let them leave the temple before giving them the task that would lead to their downfall.

“After he blessed us, Ares decreed that if we were to keep this blessing, we had to fight one daring battle for him. That battle involved going behind the back of Zeus himself and breaking into the Forge of Hephaestus. He wanted us to retrieve for him the Sword of Peleus. He claimed that Zeus gave him that sword to wield during the Great War with the Titans, but he later took it away from him and locked it away. He claimed his father only wanted the sword for himself. However, this was the first of many lies.”

“How many did there end up being?” asked Superman curiously.

“Too many to count,” said the Spartan King, shaking his head in dismay. “We all knew the consequences of defying Zeus, but we were blinded by our newfound strength. So we did as he asked. He opened a portal to Olympus. He even granted us a fleet of chariots and Pegasus horses. With these blessings, my brothers stormed the Forge, destroying every defense Hephaestus unleashed upon us. My men and I never fought better. The moment when we retrieved the sword from its case – we marked it as our greatest triumph. But it was short lived.”

The Spartan King opened his eyes again, his anger quickly overwhelming his sorrow. That moment where he and his blessed brothers emerged victorious gave them hope that the glory of Sparta would prevail. It was Ares who shattered that hope in the worst possible way.

“We returned to the temple to present the sword to Ares,” King Agesilaus III continued. “Just as he was about to take it, Zeus showed up. He revealed that the sword had never belonged to Ares. For anyone not blessed by Zeus to wield it was sacrilege. The mere act of touching it doomed me and my brothers. We tried to explain ourselves to the King of the Gods, but he wouldn’t listen. He took the sword and destroyed it before our eyes, saying it was now tainted and could no longer serve the gods. We hoped that Ares would come to our defense. How could he not after we faithfully served him?”

“That isn’t enough for some people – even gods, it seems,” said Superman, this kind of deception reminding him too much of Lex Luthor.

“He ended up doing worse,” he said. “He claimed that we acted on our own accord – that the blessings Ares granted weren’t enough for us. So we went behind his back and tried to steal the sword for ourselves. My brothers and I were so aghast that Ares would turn on us that we could not speak.”

“So Zeus punished you by burying you here?”

“No. Zeus didn’t bury us here. That would’ve been too cruel, even for him,” said King Agesilaus III bitterly. “Ares was the one who exacted this punishment. It was his way of proving his loyalty to Zeus. He made us all bow to him. Then, he opened another gateway right under us and we fell into this desolate valley.”

More gusts of stale, desolate air blew past them. Such a cold, dark domain was hardly a befitting site for warriors of Sparta to be buried. It was an indignity worse than any defeat in battle, being buried in such an inglorious manner. Worst of all, Ares didn’t even grant them an honorable death. He never even intended to.

“Ares had clearly planned for this possibility. He already had his undead army dig graves. When we arrived, they forced us into them while we were still alive. And if that weren’t cruel enough, he made us watch the Battle of Leuctra unfold so we could see our beloved Sparta defeated. It was only after that indignation that he buried us, sent us into a state of dreamless sleep, and cast a shroud over the Alcyoneus Graves to ensure we would never do battle again. Now our homes and our families are gone forever.”

“I know the feeling. Believe me, I know,” said Superman. “But that doesn’t mean you have to stop fighting. As we speak, the woman I love – Princess Diana of the Amazons – is battling Ares to save her sisters.”

“You have the love of an Amazon?” said King Agesilaus III. “That explains your commitment to braving this hell.”

“I’m willing to brave more than that and so is she. Ares isn’t just going to destroy her world. He’s going to destroy so much more. It’s bigger than any tribe or city. He’s going to wage war on millions of innocent people – people who aren’t warriors and have no hope of fighting back. Defeating him means more than making him pay for past crimes. It means preventing future atrocities.”

The prospect of such a battle astonished even this hardened warrior. Ares had left some pretty deep scars on King Agesilaus III and his men, but now he was prepared to inflict so many more. For a man and his brothers who already lost their home, their families, and their entire culture, this injustice could not stand. This mad god clearly didn’t care about anyone, god or mortal, who didn’t contribute to his war plans. This convinced King Agesilaus III that Superman could help him and his men achieve the glory and honor that Ares had denied them.

The Man of Steel extended his hand to the Spartan King in a gesture of understanding. The distraught warrior, still overwhelmed by anger and sorrow, finally looked up at him. He saw in this unexpected savior a man who didn’t carry himself like a warrior, but he still bore a sense of honor and heart that any warrior would respect. For that reason, King Agesilaus III took his hand and rose to his feet, ready to fight once more.

“You speak like a man on a mission. Well if this mission involved battling Ares, then consider yourself a brother-in-arms,” said the Spartan King.

“Thank you,” said Superman graciously. “But if we’re going to defeat Ares, we can’t just throw ourselves into battle. Hera told me about the strength of his forces. If we’re going to fight him, we need to fight smart.”

“You don’t need to convince me of this, Kal-El. My brothers and I know all too well the importance of outwitting an enemy. But to do that, you’ll still need an army.”

The proud warrior shook off whatever lingering weakness he endured from centuries of confinement. He let go of Superman’s hand and reached into his now open grave to retrieve his shield, sword, and spear that had been buried with him. He then turned to the rest of the graveyard.

“Sons of Leuctra, heed the words of your King!” he exclaimed. “A brave soul has ventured into the Alcyoneus Graves to save us from our torment. He seeks to do battle with Ares, the god that betrayed us all. For the honor of Sparta and those tainted by treachery, arise and prepare for battle!”

The sound of his voice echoed throughout the graves and stirred the restless spirits within them. Many were already awakened, but unable to rise. Hearing the rallying call of their king helped them regain the strength that made them Spartans. And one-by-one, they began to emerge from their graves.

The once desolate valley came to life. From the lifeless mud, hundreds of men dressed in full Spartan armor clawed out of their graves. Like their king, they retrieved their weapons from the ground as soon as they were free. In addition, the numerous mausoleums that lined the graveyard opened and dozens of Pegasus horses emerged, drawing chariots behind them. They had heard the call too and joined the rest of the Spartan warriors as they gathered around their king.

Once assembled, they all lined up in perfect rows like the well-trained warriors they were. The scars of Ares’ betrayal and centuries of entrapment hadn’t robbed them of their training and discipline. They had been denied glory in battle for too long. They would not be denied again.

“For glory! For honor! For Sparta!” they all chanted while banging their shields with their swords.

For the first time since he entered Tartarus, Superman felt he had an advantage over Ares. There was no way the God of War would see this coming. He had to make good use of it.

“You have your army, Kal-El. How do you intend to use it?” asked King Agesilaus III.

“I have a few ideas,” said Superman as he looked down at the Pennant of Athena. “We’re going to need to catch Ares off guard. We’re going to turn every advantage he thinks he has against him. Listen carefully and we’ll do that and so much more.”

* * *

**Tomb of Erebus – Present Time**

The God of War was not easily surprised or impressed. He couldn’t afford to be in the heat of battle. But Superman actually found a way to catch him off-guard. For the first time since this battle began, he and Wonder Woman demonstrated that they weren’t completely inept. They did have a battle plan of their own and it threatened to undermine his war.

“Well-played, Superman,” muttered Ares in annoyance. “You actually convinced my mother to assist you. Do you actually think it’ll make a difference?”

“It already has,” said Superman, regaining more and more strength as the seal became increasingly unstable.

The Sons of Leuctra were already making a difference. Once the balk of the army formed a line in front of Wonder Woman, they held up their shields to create a large phalanx between her and the approaching Amazons. Standing side-by-side, they dug in their heels and prepared to resist the coming attack.

It surprised Wonder Woman, but in a good way. She had no chance of taking on the entire Amazon army on her own. Ares knew that and used that against her. She had a feeling he didn’t expect Superman to use something like this against him.

“Princess Diana, we are here to aid you,” said one of the Spartan soldiers. “Kal-El has instructed us to occupy the Amazons without spilling their blood. We intend to do so until our dying breath. Make sure you defeat Ares before then.”

“Yes. I…I will,” said a still breathless Wonder Woman.

These brave warriors did exactly as they promised. The Amazons kept charging, breaking through the line of spears meant to hinder them. But when they reached the Spartan phalanx, they hit a wall of flesh that stopped them cold in their tracks. The Spartans were in a position to strike back and shed Amazon blood, but they didn’t. They kept their tactics defensive, willingly subjecting themselves to their wrath and drawing more of them into the battle.

She actually found herself smiling. Just when she thought her lover had run out of her ways to surprise her, he found another.

“Kal, you wonderfully cunning man,” she said to herself, now invigorated with new energy. “You know just how to honor your lover’s trust.”

With the Amazons now occupied, Wonder Woman took to the air again and went straight for Ares. Some Amazons at the rear of the line attempted to shoot her with arrows or rope her with lassos, but she was able to avoid them and too many of her sisters remained engaged with the Spartans. Now nothing would keep her from defeating this renegade god.

As she made her way up to Ares, Hippolyta watched anxiously from the base of the tomb. She had just been freed by several Spartans who flew in ahead of the main force. While impressed by this sudden turn, she did not expect Ares to succumb easily.

“Queen Hippolyta of the Amazons, the Sons of Leuctra are here to aid you,” said the Spartan that had cut her free.

“I…thank you for your assistance,” said Hippolyta, still not comfortable being near a man.

“Are you wounded? Can you fight?” he asked.

“Please refrain from touching me. I can stand so I can fight,” she said, dissuading any efforts to give her a hand. “I just hope your king and this Superman have a means of challenging Ares.”

“We have more than you think. That’s exactly why I was instructed to give this to you,” said the Spartan.

The disciplined warrior then presented Queen Hippolyta with Hera’s enchanted crown, the same relic that allowed Superman to free the Sons of Leuctra from their entrapment. Hippolyta recognized its glow and its power almost immediately. As soon as she took it in her hands, the glowing recognized her as well.

For a moment, the Queen of the Amazons forgot about the long-standing traditions of hatred that she had done more than anyone to propagate. In holding this crown, she felt the strength and compassion of Hera flow through her once more. She looked up at her daughter, who was still on her way to attacking Ares. She then looked back towards the Spartan men standing before her. They didn’t carry themselves like the brutes she encountered with Hercules. These men were warriors, ready to fight with fellow warriors, regardless of their gender. It was a sobering moment in the heat of battle. It also helped her realize what she needed to do.

“Hera…despite all my failings, you still find ways to empower me,” she said.

With her daughter and Superman doing their part, Hippolyta prepared to do hers. She placed the glowing crown on her head, letting more of its power flow through her. She then set her sights on her sisters, who were still trapped within Ares’ grasp.

“We need to give Diana a fighting chance. And I know just how to make it easier for her and harder for Ares,” said Hippolyta strongly. “I never thought I’d say this, but I’ll need the help of men.”

“You’ve got it,” said the Spartan respectfully, his fellow soldiers saluting to show their support.

“Then follow me,” she said. “Ares must pay for his atrocities!”

The notion of fighting alongside men still didn’t sit well with the former Amazon Queen, but for her daughter and for the sake of defeating Ares, she made an exception. The Spartan warriors did as she requested, surrounding her and guarding her as she made her way to the battle against the Amazons. She had to act fast. Time was running out and Ares knew it.

While the battle between the Amazons and the Sons of Leuctra raged below, Wonder Woman approached the still hovering Ares. He remained close to the seal on the Tomb of Erebus, prepared to defend it from her and the oncoming attack from King Agesilaus III. The energy surrounding the seal was still flickering with instability. It was no longer draining Superman, but they could all feel the rumbling within. Erebus was close to escaping. He just needed to hold them off a little bit longer.

“Ares! We’ve unfinished business!” yelled Wonder Woman as she closed in.

“So do we!” said King Agesilaus III. “You will _not_ escape justice for your crimes this time.”

The Spartan King struck first, heaving his spear right towards the hovering God of War as his chariot approached. Ares caught it in mid-air before he could reach him, but this only served to distract him long enough to allow Wonder Woman a clean shot. When she arrived, she struck him with a punishing uppercut to the jaw. It caused him to stagger, but not falter. She tried to hit him again, but this time he was able to block her. In doing so, Ares could hear more cracks forming in the tomb.

“You hear that, Princess? It’s too late for you or for pathetic concept of justice,” said Ares with a sneer. “This battle was over before you even arrived.”

“No battle is over while true warriors draw breath!” retorted King Agesilaus III.

The Spartan King, still riding on his Pegasus-drawn chariot, flew by Ares and Wonder Woman. At first, Ares thought he intended to strike him. To his surprise, this was not the Spartan’s strategy. He ended up flying right past him and towards Superman, who remained bound to the seal. Ares attempted to go after him, but Wonder Woman wouldn’t let him go. She kept attacking, keeping him on the defensive. The God of War could only watch as King Agesilaus III drew his sword and used it to break the ropes keeping Superman restrained.

“Are you okay, Kal-El?” asked King Agesilaus III, extending his hand to help him regain his composure.

“I’m fine,” said Superman breathlessly. “Something went wrong with the seal. It…filled me with a strange kind of energy. I feel strong, but a little dizzy.”

“We should’ve arrived sooner. When you disappeared into that portal, it took us a while to track you, even with the Pennant of Athena.”

“That’s exactly why I gave it to you. I had a feeling Ares would pull something like this. I just…never thought it would be this bold,” he said, his head still spinning as his body digested these strange energies.

“Can you fight?” asked the Spartan King.

“My girlfriend is battling a god that went to great lengths to hurt us. I think that goes without saying.”

There was no holding back the Man of Steel at this point. No matter what kind of discomfort he was in, he intended to fight alongside his lover against this mad god. He shook off further assistance from King Agesilaus III and raced towards Ares. He wasn’t at full strength, but that didn’t matter.

Ares went to elaborate lengths to outwit and overpower them. He and Wonder Woman had talked about sharing the burden of battle together. This was the perfect opportunity to come together and defeat this threat once and for all.

“Hey Diana! Got room for me?” asked Superman as he flew in at high speeds.

“Always,” said Wonder Woman with a devious smile as she kept Ares at bay.

The God of War didn’t get a chance to evade the incoming Superman this time. Wonder Woman made sure he was too busy blocking her attacks. When her lover struck, he hit Ares with enough force to trigger a miniature shockwave. It shook the skies above the tomb like thunder and left the God of War momentarily disoriented. Superman and Wonder Woman took full advantage of it. Now side-by-side once more, the couple exchanged grins before launching another coordinated assault.

Ares attempted to launch an attack of his own, letting out an angry roar as he tried to strike Superman. He ended up blocking it, allowing Wonder Woman just enough time to fly in behind and strike again. This time she hit him right in the torso, disorienting him again and allowing Superman to throw in a devastating jab to the jaw. It sent Ares tumbling through the sky, only to end up right in the path of King Agesilaus III, who threw in a strike of his own as he rode by on his chariot.

“Errrr! You think you can win like this? You think you can defeat the God of War?” exclaimed the frustrated god.

“We don’t just think we can,” said Wonder Woman as she cracked her knuckles again.

“We know we can,” said Superman, already going in for another attack.

Now being attacked in three different directions, Ares found himself in an unfamiliar position. He was overwhelmed and off-balance, unable to focus or craft an effective counter-attack. Superman attacked from one direction, hitting him high. Wonder Woman attacked from the other, hitting him low. King Agesilaus III supplemented each attack by slashing him with his sword, damaging his armor and actually shedding blood. He managed to get in a few strikes, but they were already hardened from the blows they took earlier. They made it clear that they were prepared to match him blow for blow.

Eventually, the constant bombardment forced him away from the seal and the tomb. He could still feel the rumbling and the activity within. However, he could not even tell if the seal was about to break. For all he knew, Superman had been pulled away before enough energy could flow through to unlock it. His meticulous battle plan was crumbling before his eyes. He soon found himself falling out of the air and towards the ground below.

Sensing his growing weakness, Superman and Wonder Woman kept up with their assault, getting frequent assists from King Agesilaus III. They kept flying around and pounding him into submission, coordinating their attacks in ways that almost felt harmonious. Fighting together, united and strong, revealed something profound about the state of their relationship. While they could fight valiantly on their own, they could overcome so much more together.

This still didn’t stop Ares from putting up a fight. As he neared the ground, he grew more desperate. He started channeling his godly power and unleashed a torrent of fireballs at them. Superman and Wonder Woman were able to evade, but one ended up hitting King Agesilaus III’s chariot. It caused the Pegasus to wail and he started tumbling out of the sky.

“I’m going down, Kal-El!” he shouted as he struggled to regain control. “Finish this fight. Leave something left for me and my brothers if you can!”

“We’ll try, but no promises,” said Superman.

As he and Wonder Woman evaded more fireballs, they made sure to draw Ares’ fire so that the Spartan King could make his way to the surface safely. They eventually came together again in a hail of lethal fire where their gazes met again. In this heat of battle with so much at stake, they still smiled at one another, conveying all the emotions necessary.

“Together?” asked Superman.

“Together,” affirmed Wonder Woman, needing no other words.

United in this battle, they flew in different directions at first to divert Ares’ attack. This forced him to make his onslaught less concentrated, leaving him vulnerable once more. As he struggled to slow them down, Superman and Wonder Woman came together again and flew in close. They then each threw a punch, their collective strength striking Ares right in the face. This time the God of War had little hope of defending himself. He only saw their fists for a brief moment before they hit. They imparted so much force that he was sent falling to the ground below like a meteor, even leaving a miniature crater near the base of the tomb.

“Ungh…my war…will _not_ be stopped,” he groaned.

“It already has, Ares,” said Wonder Woman as she and Superman descended towards him.

“Need I remind you…of the army I control?” stammered the God of War as he struggled to his feet.

“You sure about that?” said Superman curtly.

Ares didn’t pick up on the subtext of his words at first. Then, he noticed a new development in the battle between the Amazons and the Sons of Leuctra and it wasn’t in his favor.

The Spartans had stuck to their tactic valiantly, not attacking the Amazons even as they fought with the intent of killing them where they stood. They remained in a completely defensive phalanx, allowing some strikes to penetrate. Some Spartans even incurred wounds and blows, but they did not deviate. This forced the Amazons to push harder in an attempt to break the phalanx. This also helped distract them from Hippolyta and the other Spartans approaching from behind. Any that noticed were fought off, allowing the former Queen of the Amazons to assert herself once more.

“Hear me, my sisters. For I wield blessings of Hera!” she proclaimed, the glowing crown on her head radiating with more energy. “Your spirits have been corrupted. Ares is _not_ your patron god, nor is he worthy of worship. I may be disgraced and dishonored from my own deeds, but the spirit of our people is not.”

The sound of her voice triggered a reaction in many of the Amazons. Their glowing purple eyes flickered, showing signs that her voice evoked just the right emotions to help them resist Ares’ control. While many of them would still scorn her for the lies she fed them, they would not let something this petty destroy their warrior pride.

“By Hera’s compassion, I pray – remember who you are,” said Hippolyta, speaking with the authority of a queen once more. “You are not pawns. You are warriors!”

As she said these words, the crown on her head erupted in a bright flash that momentarily engulfed the entire Amazon army. In doing so it nullified the dark influence Ares had imposed on them. Their eyes stopped glowing and their blind rage faded. Guided by Hera’s blessing and Hippolyta’s understanding of the arcane, the corruption within their spirits was purged.

“By the gods…I feel ill,” groaned Aleka, who had been on the front lines.

Her sentiment was shared by many. Most of the Amazons lost their balance or just rubbed their heads in confusion. It was like waking up from a terrible nightmare. In many ways this wasn’t too far from the truth and it still wasn’t over.

As the Amazons recovered, the Sons of Leuctra maintained their defensive posture, not certain if more fighting would be necessary. They knew the Amazons’ reputation when it came to men. They were not going to assume they had allies just yet. They maintained this assumption until King Agesilaus III landed in his damaged chariot in front of them.

“Stand down, my brothers. Give the sisters of Hera the space they need,” said the Spartan King.

“Thank you, King Agesilaus,” said Hippolyta as she approached her sisters. “Your restraint and valor is to be commended.”

“So…you’re fighting alongside men now?” said a still dazed Aleka.

“No Aleka. I fight alongside warriors,” said Hippolyta. “You may not see me as a queen anymore, but we are all still warriors. As such, we must reserve our wrath for those who deserve it.”

“Like a renegade God of War,” said King Agesilaus III, already turning his attention back towards Ares.

As the Amazons regained their composure, they recalled who had done this to them. The feeling of being used and manipulated was far worse than any animosity they had towards man. Even Aleka bitterly nodded in agreement, bowing her head before Hippolyta in acknowledgement of her sentiment. While they still kept their distance from the Spartans, they stood ready to fight alongside them against Ares.

Now the battered and bruised God of War didn’t just have an angry Superman and Wonder Woman to deal with. He had the Amazons and the Sons of Leuctra bearing down on him, two armies by the gods with just as many reasons to be angry with him. As he struggled to recover from the beating he just took, he watched both armies surround him. His lies and deceit had united them and they stood ready to fight until their dying breath to oppose him.

“How’s that battle plan of yours looking now, Ares?” taunted Wonder Woman.

“This is usually the point where I would urge someone in your position to surrender, but I think I’ll save myself the trouble this time,” said Superman, cracking his knuckles again.

Despite the battle falling apart around him, Ares remained defiant. He wiped the blood off his face and prepared to fight. He might not have the Amazons under his control anymore, but he still controlled an endless army of monsters from Tartarus. However, he had most of them guarding Olympus and all the gateways between realms. Even if he summoned them, he was too weak to summon a significant force. But he was still the God of War. He would not back down from a battle, even if it seemed like a losing battle.

“I am still...a god,” he said as he prepared to fight. “No mortal…can challenge…my power.”

“Call yourself whatever you want, Ares. Your war ends now!” said Wonder Woman.

She and Superman prepared to lead the charge against the weakened God of War. But before they had a chance to strike, a thunderous noise from the top of the tomb shook the battlefield. The tremors that plagued the site earlier turned into powerful quakes that disrupted any possible attack. It left everyone except the God of War stunned.

“What was that you were saying about my battle plan, Diana?” grinned Ares.

“The seal!” exclaimed King Agesilaus III, pointing up towards the tomb. “It is…breaking?”

“That’s not possible!” gasped Hippolyta.

“It shouldn’t be,” said the Spartan King anxiously.

“I thought we prevented that when I was freed,” said Superman.

“Apparently not,” dreaded Wonder Woman.

The intensity of the quakes escalated as more cracks in the seal formed, forcing every Amazon and Spartan to back away from the Tomb of Erebus. When it finally shattered, it unleashed a wave of glowing energy that ripped through the dark skies above, tearing a hole through the clouds. Once broken, it was like a volcano erupting after centuries of pent up pressure. The only one who didn’t show any concern was Ares.

It shouldn’t have been possible. Superman had been removed from the seal too quickly, but the strange energy anomalies that Ares noticed earlier seemed to finish the job. He didn’t bother making sense of it. Now flushed with renewed energy, he stood and prepared to channel this ancient power.

“You’ve all fought your battles honorably, but honor alone cannot win a war. It takes power – one mortals will never grasp,” said the God of War in a dominating tone. “Now watch as the power of Erebus is unleashed on the realms of mortals and gods alike!”

As the Amazons and Spartans fell back, Superman and Wonder Woman tried to hold their ground. They leaned on each other through the devastating quakes. They still sought to attack Ares before he could finish whatever madness he had begun, but the energy coming from the mountain made it all but impossible.

“Diana…what exactly is happening here?” asked Superman, his knowledge of Olympian power still limited.

“I’m not entirely sure,” said Wonder Woman as she looked up at the crumbling tomb with dread. “I think Ares just unleashed something that’ll make him _much_ harder to defeat.”

“How much harder?”

“I’d rather not know, but we’re about to find out.”

As they struggled to make sense of what was happening, massive fissures within the tomb formed at the peak and spread. From these fissures, a mist-like energy shot out. It was the same purplish hue as the low in Ares’ eyes, revealing a clear connection. As more of this energy emerged, they saw Ares gain more strength. The wounds they had inflicted on him healed. The fatigue they saw in him faded. He even began to grow in size as more of this power consumed him, becoming more menacing and imposing by the second.

“Yes! Come to me, Erebus. Unleash your power through me!” the God of War demanded.

Erebus obeyed Ares’ demand. It seemed reticent, letting out high-pitched screeches that indicated that the God of War was perverting its power somehow. But it could not resist. The energy from the tomb flowed into the God of War, adding to his power.

Then, as if guided by his whim, another fissure formed near the peak of the mound that quickly became a full-blown eruption. A massive hole opened at the summit of the mound and a bright beam of energy shot up into the sky like a giant laser. It unleashed another shockwave that shattered what remained of the tomb, forcing Superman and Wonder Woman to protect themselves while the Amazons and the Sons of Leuctra retreated farther. And as the column of light illuminated the darkened skies, a large circular portal formed.

It started small and quickly growing to the size of a skyscraper. Looking up through the portal, an imaged formed to reveal where this massive portal would lead.

“That looks like…” began Wonder Woman.

“It is,” said Superman, using his telescopic vision to confirm what they already dreaded. “He’s opening a huge gateway into our world.”

“One big enough for both him and his armies,” she added. “Any idea on how to stop it?”

“I was about to ask you that same question.”

“Then we’re in for an even bigger battle than we thought.”

This battle that they committed to fighting together had been difficult enough. Now, even with the aid of the Amazons and the Sons of Leuctra, the odds were not in their favor. Ares was now channeling so much power that they could hear the hordes of monsters and undead soldiers rallying to the tomb. Their numbers were so vast and Ares’ control over them was so strong that even the aid of other gods at this point would’ve made little difference. And the God of War knew it.

As his enemies trembled at the sight of his new power, Ares continued to grow in size. He looked up through the portal at the mortal world. It was so ripe and vulnerable. The feeble armies of man stood little chance against him. Even the armies of the gods couldn’t stop him at this point. With victory within his grasp, Ares prepared to unleash his warpath.

“Take one last look at the world of mortals and gods. Today, both shall fall. Now that the Gate of Eos is open, the reign of corrupt man and arrogant gods comes to an end!” proclaimed Ares.

The God of War was about to ascend into the portal along with his army. Then, the massive portal began warping erratically. The energy surrounding it flickered, turning from purple to yellow. It unleashed a new round of strange tremors and shockwaves, but this time Ares shared in the dread.

“What? The Gate of Eos is…reversing itself?” said Ares.

“I’m guessing that’s not supposed to happen,” said Superman.

“It isn’t,” said Wonder Woman, curiosity now mixing with dread. “I’m still not sure that’s a good thing.”

“That energy feels kind of like yellow sunlight. I want to say it’s an improvement, but I have a feeling there’s a catch.”

Superman’s hunch proved painfully accurate as that catch literally formed before their eyes. From the other side of the portal, the yellowish energy took the form of a familiar face. Many of the Amazons and Spartans recognized it instantly, but it left the God of War most furious.

“Apollo! You dare choose a moment like this to defy me?” exclaimed Ares.

 _“Spare me the melodrama, my dear half-brother. What makes you think that moment hadn’t already passed?”_ quipped Apollo in a booming voice.

Ares growled angrily at the sight of his half-brother. It was a clear sign that Ares’ war plans had been derailed yet again, this time by a fellow god. Apollo’s sudden appearance was confusing to many, but it didn’t take much to surmise what it entailed.

“Gods betraying gods – it’s as fitting as it is predictable,” said King Agesilaus III bitterly.

“And others suffer because of it,” added Hippolyta. “Is there no end to this cycle?”

“I fear that question has a very _unsettling_ answer.”

Superman, Wonder Woman, the Amazons, and the Sons of Leuctra now found themselves in the middle of another dispute among gods. Something between Ares and Apollo must have been brewing behind the scenes. They had to have worked together in some capacity to unleash such madness. While gods betraying one another was hardly surprising, it almost ensured that there would be no winners in this battle.

This didn’t make it any less infuriating for Ares. He expected Apollo to pursue his own interests as he always did, but he never expected him to do something this foolish.

 _“Try not to be too upset. I’m actually doing this so everyone can win,”_ said Apollo.

“Adding lies to your betrayal will only make my wrath more painful, Apollo!” shouted Ares.

_“It’s the honest truth. I know few gods can say that with a straight face, but this time is different. As I speak, I’m reversing the flow of energy that we’ve been using to open portals between realms. There was a slight hiccup along the way, but I managed to fix it. Now, with the energy from Erebus, I am going to sever the link between our realms once and for all. Gods will never interact with mortals again and mortals will never have to deal with Olympian affairs.”_

“Has the mortal realm poisoned your mind? That means you’ll be stranded in the mortal realm!”

_“You say that like it’s a curse. On Olympus, you and I are hardly remarkable. We’re just one god among many. But in this world, I am more than that. I am a being that can both command and earn worship. The powers of light serve to enrich this world. And they’ll have me to thank and revere for it. And if they don’t, then I can make them regret it on my terms instead of those imposed by Zeus. Tell me, Ares – isn’t that more productive use of our power than waging war?”_

Ares didn’t answer Apollo’s question. All he heard were excuses for his treachery. Apollo had always been petty, but the God of War never thought his half-brother would stoop this low. He was more than deserving of his wrath, but he may never get that chance.

While Ares fumed over his half-brother’s betrayal, Superman and Wonder Woman grew concerned for a different set of reasons. Apollo was not like Ares in that he didn’t seek war, but neither held innocent people in high regard so he could still do plenty of damage.

“So he wants to be worshiped again and doesn’t care if it’s forced,” said Wonder Woman in disgust.

“You give the impression that he’s not the first one to try this,” said Superman.

“Let’s just say there’s a good reason why mortals stopped worshiping certain gods and leave it at that.”

The extent of Apollo’s plans was unclear, but Wonder Woman didn’t assume for a moment that those plans involved him being a merciful god. She also didn’t assume that he would risk them interfering.

 _“As far as I’m concerned, this gives everybody what they want to some degree – with some getting more than others, of course,”_ Apollo continued. _“I get a new world with new worshippers. You get an entire realm in which to wage your little war. Sure, the Amazons and Spartans will be trapped as well. But at least you’ll have someone to fight. And they’ll have someone they can take their anger out on. Everybody wins!”_

“But you win more than the rest of us,” said Ares bitterly.

_“Don’t you think I’ve earned it? Then again, I’m past the point of caring. As soon as I close this portal with the power of Erebus, the gates will be closed for good. We’ll never see each other again.”_

“Close as many as you want. I’ll still find you and you shall taste my blade, Apollo!” spat the God of War.

 _“I’ll miss you too, dear brother. Please send my regards to our father,”_ he replied with a snide grin. _“With that, I bid you a fond farewell and wish you…”_

Apollo’s taunting voice became obscured, the image of his face fading into chaotic swirls of yellowish energy. It was like static on a video screen. A new round of instability in the portal followed. As Apollo’s face became more obscured, the beam of energy shooting up from the Tomb of Erebus began shifting again. This time it bent in new directions, unleashing chaotic bolts that neither Ares nor Apollo controlled. It actually caused the tremors and quacks throughout the area to steady, as though Erebus was now taking on a more focused form.

 _“Damn it! Where is…more interference…the matter with this…who dares?”_ said Apollo, his voice jumbled and clearly upset.

“What now? Did another god just enter the picture?” groaned Superman.

“I don’t know, but it might be our first lucky break,” said Wonder Woman, already looking for an opportunity to take advantage of this.

Something had clearly gone very wrong on Apollo’s side. There might very well be other forces at work, but it presented an opportunity that none of them could afford to pass up. Ares, not at all inclined to be trapped in this realm, didn’t bother making sense of it. Still flushed with plenty of power, he had every intention of unleashing his wrath upon his devious half-brother.

“Ha! It would seem fate and competence is _not_ on your side, Apollo,” said Ares, already formulating his attack plan against. “When will you learn? Inferior gods can never reign supreme.”

“I couldn’t agree more,” said an unexpected voice from behind.

The God of War’s eyes widened upon hearing those words. But before he could even acknowledge it, he felt a sharp pain in his side. It was a pain unlike anything he, or any god, had experienced before. Almost instantly, all the power and energy he had channeled began bleeding out like a mortal wound. He watched as this power flowed back into Erebus where it continued to redirect itself at the hands of an unknown force. Such a grim sight further added to his pain. The God of War could actually feel his immortal form withering under the power of this relic.

For a moment, Ares stood paralyzed at this unfamiliar feeling. Then, he looked down at the source of the pain and saw the Dagger of Deimos plunged deep into his torso. He also saw the hand grasping it and his pain turned to shock as he figured out who was behind this interference.

“Lex…Luthor!” gasped Ares.

“You assumed I was actually defeated? I’m insulted, but not surprised,” said a grinning Lex Luthor, his spirit still inhabiting the Annihilator Armor. “Don’t bother cursing me. Don’t even try to attribute this to fate. This is just you, your fellow false gods, and the ignorant pawns that serve you being bested by a superior intellect.”

* * *

**Up next: Blind Darkness**


	18. Blind Darkness

**Strangers In Paradise**   
**Chapter 18: Blind Darkness**

* * *

**Helion Solar Test Range – 10 Minutes Ago**

“There! It should be fixed now. We’re just about ready,” said a restless Apollo as he worked frantically.

“You’ve said that three times in the past ten minutes,” said an equally restless Persephone.

“You’ve been keeping track?”

“I’m just noting your incompetence.”

The Queen of the Underworld might have beauty that captured the heart of Hades, but she could be extremely annoying. As much as Apollo was inclined to curse her, he didn’t bother wasting his breath. He needed to make sure the Gate of Eos was ready. If the energy output from the Cerberus Generators was any indication, Ares was about to unlock the Tomb of Erebus at any moment.

He should’ve been enjoying another bottle of wine, waiting for just the right moment before revealing to Ares just how badly he had been outsmarted. Then, for reasons he still couldn’t ascertain, the energy from the Cerberus Generators became unstable. The mortal scientists and technicians working in the field described it as interference. They still believed this was all some elaborate solar energy experiment. They couldn’t possibly understand the forces behind this anomaly. Unfortunately, Apollo didn’t understand it that much either.

But he didn’t need to understand it. He just needed to work around it. Still working from the elaborate interface built into the main hanger, he adjusted the Cerberus Generators remotely. Dozens of holographic screens kept blaring warnings and bizarre readings. It was like someone or something was pumping a different kind of energy into the generators. That shouldn’t have been possible. No mortal or most gods for that matter should have such capabilities. As dire as some of these warnings were, the systems remained intact.

However, in order to keep it from getting too unstable, he might end up having to skip a few steps in his plan. With the Queen of the Underworld still watching him closely, this would be a challenge. But he was willing to work around it.

 _“Mr. Disole, sir. The interference is stabilizing, but we can’t filter it out. It’s causing some readings that have a lot of folks down here real worried,”_ said the chief engineer, who had been in constant contact with him since this incident began.

“Then don’t waste time trying,” replied Apollo, altering his voice so he sounded like Alfanso Disole again. “Take the rest of your team and retreat behind the safety barriers. Tell the perimeter guards to move everybody back another 500 feet. This might be more volatile than I calculated.”

_“Will do, sir. What about you?”_

“I’ll catch up,” he replied.

It was a blatant lie, but he was used to lying to mortals. At this point, the mortals he employed had outlived their usefulness. He issued another protocol to sound more alarms, warning everyone still on the test range to drop whatever they were doing and evacuate. At the very least, he could ensure they would be witnesses to this moment.

Once the communication line was severed, Apollo abandoned his identity as Alfonso Disole once and for all. The next time the mortals saw him, they would know to address him in a very different manner. He checked the timer that was counting down until the Gate of Eos was at full power. Since there wasn’t enough time to eliminate the interference completely, he engaged a series of protocols that he hoped to initiate later. Knowing that Persephone was still watching, he prepared for some new complications.

“You’ll have to find something else to complain about, Persephone. This should keep the system stable,” said Apollo as he entered the final command.

As soon as the protocol began, another round of warnings flashed on all the screens. The erratic energy readings fluctuated more severely. Along with these readings came an ominous warning.

 _“Protocol Icarus engaged,”_ the system said. _“Cerberus overload initiated. Warning. Energy flux has been reversed. Permanent gateway instability immanent.”_

“Overload? Reversed? Instability?” said Persephone anxiously. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“That didn’t take long,” said Apollo wryly.

More warnings on the holographic screens blared, but Apollo wasn’t worried in the slightest. While Persephone didn’t know much about this technology, she knew that certain words did not bode well.

She briefly looked out the window towards the massive structure in the middle of the test range. It was already charging up with energy from the Cerberus Generators. It began with a steady, stable flow that created a small yet stable purplish glow. Now that flow of energy didn’t look nearly as stable. The purplish glow clashed with traces of yellowish energy. She knew enough about Olympian power to understand that this was natural. It left her deeply concerned and less trusting of her fellow god.

“Apollo…what in the name of Olympus are you doing?” she said in a more hostile tone.

“You know when you give me that angry look, it’s so difficult to lie to you. It’s a testament to your beauty and your charisma. It’s something I’ve always admired about you, Persephone,” said Apollo as he approached her with a mischievous glare.

“You had best explain yourself before you take another step. I’m warning you, Apollo!”

“And I’m returning the favor by sparing further lies,” he said. “Honestly, do you really want to go back to Olympus? After what Ares has done, do you really think you and your mother will have a moment’s peace?”

The Queen of the Understood took a few steps back. Her gaze kept diverting between the Gate of Eos outside and the approaching God of Light before her. She felt a sinking feeling that filled her with anger and dread. That desperate hope she had been clinging to since this affair began finally shattered as the cold truth set in. She should’ve seen it sooner, but now it was too late.

“You…you never planned on sending me back, did you? You never even planned on letting Ares through the gate,” she surmised.

“I’ll do you one better. I plan to use the power of the Tomb of Erebus to close _every_ gate between this realm and ours for good,” said Apollo.

“How is _that_ better?” exclaimed Persephone.

She was prepared to lash out at him, but Apollo didn’t give her the chance. With reflexes as fast as the light he commended, he grabbed the Queen of the Underworld by the neck and overpowered her. Before she could even begin to struggle, he pushed her up against a nearby wall and pinned her. She struggled at first, but Apollo made sure she couldn’t escape. She needed to understand what she was now a part of.

“Spare me your shallow questions. I know you don’t care about the answer, but you should. You _really_ should because like it or not, _you_ made this possible,” said Apollo in a deep, menacing tone.

“You…lied to me!” spat Persephone.

“I thought you of all people would be used to that by now,” he scoffed, “But take comfort, if you can. I am not Hades, nor am I my father.”

“No. You’re…worse!”

“I am only doing what none of the gods will or even contemplate doing. I am ending the fruitless struggles between and within our world and this world. And believe it or not, you stand to benefit far more than most.”

“More…lies!”

“But since I had a feeling you wouldn’t believe it, I took the necessary precautions.”

The Queen of the Underworld continued to struggle within his grasp. She began thrashing and kicking at him. As she wasted her energy, Apollo reached into his pocket and retrieved a little something he borrowed from Ares. It was a shard of an amulet he once used on Prometheus to subdue him. When he held it up over Persephone’s forehead, it flashed briefly and unleashed the same effect.

Persephone recognized the amulet shard just in time to feel its energy wash over her. Almost immediately, a bluish halo of energy surrounded her entire body. She felt her strength nullified and her body go limp. She barely got out an angry grunt before she fell to the floor, still conscious but unable to move. Now lying helplessly with her back against the wall, Apollo knelt down and cupped her face so she couldn’t turn away from him.

“You can’t see it. None of the gods could see it,” said Apollo in a more serious tone. “Our worlds cannot remain connected. I believe those very connections are what fuels the chaos the gods constantly battle. By closing those connections forever, the gods can focus on controlling their world while the mortals can focus on building theirs. But unlike the gods, the mortals lack the power and authority to sustain themselves. They need a guiding light – one whose authority they cannot subvert with their petty ignorance.”

“That’s…what this is…about? You seek…to rule them?” said Persephone, weakened yet still defiant.

“No. Zeus seeks to rule. Ares seeks to conquer. I seek to guide,” said Apollo strongly. “I will bring order to the mortals – order they’ll desperately need if they are to have any hope of survival. They’ll worship me, oppose me, and even doubt me – but they won’t be able to stop me.”

“What of…the gods? What of…my mother?”

Apollo just sneered. Even after centuries of suffering, the Queen of the Underworld still clung to the connections that had doomed her in so many ways. It would’ve been tragic if it didn’t make her so useful.

“Their fate is up to them now,” he said in a crass tone. “I’m sure your mother will be fine. She might even be proud of what you’re part of now. While I don’t seek to be a mere king in this world, I’ll still need a queen.”

His firm grip on her face turned into a gentle caress. His touch disgusted Persephone more than that of Hades at this point. The way he looked at her made her want to gouge his eyes out. He didn’t just want her as a queen. He wanted her as a trophy. Even Hades never looked upon her in such a demeaning manner. Once again, her desire to see her mother led her into the arms of a possessive god and she could do nothing about it. She only managed to spit on his shoes in disgust, giving him nothing but scorn for his deception.

It did little to dissuade Apollo. He just laughed and grinned as he let go of her face. She remained hopelessly paralyzed and unable to oppose his will. Her fate was already sealed. At this point, he needed only to seize his own.

“You’ll come around. You and every other mortal in this world eventually will,” he said as he rose up and left her to her helplessness. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a message to deliver to Ares. There will be no more interference. Now _nothing_ and _no one_ can change the fate of god and mortals!”

* * *

**Tomb of Erebus – Five Minutes Ago**

In every great myth, there came a point where those attempting to subvert the will of the gods made a critical error. They would let their emotions overwhelm them. They would trust those that would end up betraying them. They would even charge into battle ill-equipped and overwhelmed, seeking some measure of honor or glory or whatever lie they told themselves to avoid being called foolish. No matter what their error, the theme was always the same. Lowly mortals weren’t supposed to oppose the will of the gods. However, no mortal in any such tale had the genius of Lex Luthor.

He was now a passive observer in the ongoing battle amongst the gods, the Amazons, Superman, Wonder Woman, and the newly-arrived Sons of Leuctra. He actually didn’t expect so many participants, but their presence was inconsequential. Lex had actually hoped that Ares would somehow find a way to kill Wonder Woman to take her off the table. That might have been hoping for too much, but it didn’t matter. Eventually, they would all fall.

_‘This is too easy…and boring for that matter. I hate it when brilliant plans require such careful timing. You can never rely unwitting pawns to stick to a schedule, even when those pawns are gods. But you can always count on being overlooked by those who believe they’ve already won.’_

Lex made sure everyone assumed he was defeated. His spirit remained locked within the Annihilator Armor as he lay motionless at the base of the Tomb of Erebus. He could see Superman being restrained by the seal, the energy already flowing into him in an effort to break it. He could also see Wonder Woman and the Sons of Lecutra defending against the Amazons. But the most important sight for him was the sudden shift in the energy flowing through Superman on the seal. It clashed with what Ares had intended. Naturally, he had no idea where it was coming from. It put him in a better position than any mythical hero of old.

_‘You don’t know it yet, Ares. But you’ve already lost. You lost before you ever stepped onto this battlefield. You and your fellow gods think you’re the only ones capable of manipulating exotic energy. I want to be insulted, but that would only make this less satisfying than I intend.’_

He kept on watching, noting Ares growing frustration at the energy now flowing into the seal. The God of War had yet to make a connection. He should’ve seen the signs, but he predictably failed.

After escorting the Amazons to the tomb, Ares ordered him to kill or subdue Wonder Woman until he unlocked the seal. Lex gave the impression that he would gladly do so and enjoy himself immensely in the process. He probably thought just being in a suit of armor that allowed him to slay powerful beings like her would be enough incentive. He was too content assuming Lex Luthor had failed him – a fatal assumption if ever there was one.

He still took quite a beating from Wonder Woman. The power of the armor urged him to finish her off. He probably could’ve if he desired, but Lex opted for a more strategic approach. The most important part of that strategy was to lead her to the tomb. This would begin the vital process of undermining Ares’ battle plan. He would learn soon enough that, unlike the foolish men of old myths, Lex Luthor understood the vulnerabilities of those wielding god-like power. Their flaws made them more predictable than any mortal could hope to be.

The wait to begin the next step was agonizing. Finally, while Ares and Superman were yelling at each other about something, he noticed a small portal open near him. It was different from the portals Ares had been using in that this one gave of a yellowish hue, similar to the energy that was causing the God of War so much frustration. From this portal, Mercy Graves emerged holding the final key to his triumph.

“Hello Lex. I take it you’re well-rested,” she said to him.

“Quite,” Lex replied with a smile. “How goes that little side-project of mine?”

“It’s operating at full capacity. We’ve successfully hijacked the energy signature from the generators at Helion Solar. They have no idea we’re overriding them.”

“Of course they don’t,” he said with a touch of humor. “Keep the generators going for another 15 minutes. Then turn them off, destroy the facility, and guard my body at the hospital until I say otherwise.”

“It will be done, sir. How will I know when you give me the word?” asked Mercy.

“Trust me. You’ll know because the whole world will know.”

She didn’t ask for details. Mercy rarely cared for details. She would soon learn the extent of Lex Luthor’s triumph over wannabe gods like everyone else.

“Then I guess the only thing left for me to do is give you this,” she said.

Without saying another word, she presented Lex with the Dagger of Deimos. It seemed only fitting that the relic that began this messy affair would be the one that ended it.

“Time to finally enjoy the fruits of my genius,” he said as he gripped the dagger. “Return to base, Mercy. I’ll take it from here. These _gods_ are so fond of seizing their fate. Let’s find out how willing they are to accept it.”

Mercy did as she was told, slipping back into the portal and disappearing from the site. As soon as he had it in hand, Lex carefully arose and got into position. He had every intention of making his inevitable triumph greater than any myth.

* * *

**Tomb of Erebus – Now**

“Errr! Luthor…you dare defy me?” said an enraged Ares.

“Yes Ares. I dare!” said Lex, driving the dagger in deeper to reinforce his point.

The God of War let out a pained gasp as the effect of the wound spread. Still paralyzed and shocked, the painful truth finally sank in. A mortal had wound a god and that mortal found a way to make that wound severe.

The gods of Olympus rarely experienced such pain. Being powerful and immortal, they had little reason to fear this kind of pain. It was the same pain that mortals experienced regularly and could do little to resist. Ares might have been the first one in centuries to endure it, but its effect went far beyond pain.

As he stood paralyzed and wounded, others took notice. Superman and Wonder Woman had been so focused on Ares that they didn’t notice Luthor’s presence until the dagger was in. This act seemed to settle the severe quakes rocking the area for a moment. This allowed the Amazons and the Sons of Leuctra to stop retreating and share in the God of War’s surprise.

“What just happened? Who is that?” asked Hippolyta.

“Did he just _kill_ Ares?” wondered King Agesilaus III in his shock.

“I don’t know, but I suspect Ares _wishes_ wish he were dead right now.”

Neither the Amazons nor the Spartans could understand or appreciate what they were witnessing. They only saw some random soul within the Annihilator Armor turning against Ares. Like Ares, they thought he had been defeated. For Superman and Wonder Woman, who had dealt with Luthor’s treachery on more than one occasion, they had a better idea of what they were in for. It didn’t bode well for mortals or gods.

“Lex Luthor,” said Superman with a mix of frustration and dismay. “You just _have_ to find a way to exploit every crisis.”

“Guess I didn’t hit him enough,” said Wonder Woman, sharing in his frustrations.

“Or…he let you hit him as much as he wanted,” he said as he began piecing together the details.

“So I’ll hit him some more!” she said, already clenching her fist.

“Wait!” said Superman, holding out his arm to stop her. “As hard as it is to believe, I have a feeling that’ll make things even worse.”

He then pointed towards the Tomb of Erebus so Wonder Woman could see what he had just notice. The energy that had been erupting from the Tomb of Erebus was still changing. The Gate of Eos above remained open and Apollo, whose face had since disappeared, could not close it. They could tell he was trying because the gate kept giving off erratic flares, which seemed the tear at the integrity of both their realms. But a much bigger change came as Ares grew weaker.

Due to the damage caused by the wound, Ares lost the energy he had been channeling since the tomb was unlocked. This caused him to shrink back to his normal size and wither, losing his imposing mass and demeanor. Once lost, this energy began flowing into the Annihilator Armor. And just as it had done with Ares, the armor started to grow in size and power. But unlike Ares, Lex Luthor knew how to make better use of it.

After watching Ares whither into a pathetically feeble form, Lex roughly ripped out the dagger and let the once imposing God of War fall ingloriously to the ground. The wound kept bleeding profusely, leaving behind a large cut with trails of yellowish energy stemming from it. Ares groaned in agony, clutching the wound and coughing up blood. Now standing over him, Luthor made sure Ares couldn’t look away from the mortal that outwitted him.

“You feel that, Ares? That’s what we mortals call pain and suffering. You probably knew that, but I doubt you ever gave it a second thought…or even a first,” taunted Luthor.

“You think…you know suffering?” spat Ares, coughing up more blood.

“A superior mortal knows far more than an inferior god ever will. That’s why you could never have seen this coming. You assume mortals are as at the mercy of their limitations while your fellow gods are doomed to your fate. You never think beyond those assumptions because you’re too used to being vindicated by your power. Well now a mortal controls this power and he’s going to use it in ways you’ve never dared!”

With Ares still watching on in his wounded state, Lex held up the Dagger of Deimos and channeled the energy from the Tomb of Erebus in an entirely new way. The massive fissures and cracks that had formed over the tomb spread, causing more of the mist-like energy to be released. Some went up through the beam leading to the Gate of Eos. The rest swirled around Lex Luthor’s growing form, collecting around the tip of the dagger. Like an antenna, it drew the energy in. At times, it tried to resist. But whatever Luthor had done to hijack this energy, he made sure it couldn’t escape.

Not willing to wait and see what he would do with this power, Superman and Wonder Woman took action.

“I remember that dagger. We have to get it away from him!” said Superman.

“Does it matter if we do it in a way that hurts?” asked Wonder Woman, already taking to the air.

“No.”

They both attempted to fly in at high speeds and strike before Luthor gathered too much energy. However, he had already sensed them coming and let them know it was already too late.

He cast them a bemused glance as he directed some of the energy from the Tomb of Erebus towards them in the form of powerful bolts. Superman and Wonder Woman attempted to evade them, managing to fly around the first onslaught. They only managed to get within twenty feet of him before they were both struck by the second wave, inflicting a paralyzing shock that sent them crashing face-first into the ground.

“Aaagghhh!” they both cried out.

“Nice try, but you’re not going to catch me off-guard this time,” taunted Luthor. “I am not a renegade god or a misguided hero. I am a man who happens to be smarter and more capable than you’ll _ever_ be.”

The sight of Superman and Wonder Woman falling after a single strike from Luthor horrified the Amazons and the Sons of Lecutra. Some still wanted to rush to their aid, but Hippolyta and King Agesilaus III waved them off. They were starting to grasp just how dire their battle had become.

“That man – he’s really doing it. He’s usurping the power of Erebus,” said Hippolyta distantly. “Gods help us all.”

“I don’t think even they can help at this point,” dreaded King Agesilaus III.

They could only watch as Lex Luthor continued to grow in size and power, drawing in more energy from Erebus by the second. At times, it was like the energy was crying out. This man was perverting it more than Ares had ever dared. But he didn’t care. He just looked down on them in utter triumph.

Superman and Wonder Woman tried to fight off the sting, rising to their hands and knees. Ares remained too wounded. Now looking up at Lex Luthor as he channeled this power through the Annihilator Armor, they saw an enemy they had little chance of defeating.

“I could kill you all so easily. I could’ve even killed a god and let his corpse be the first testament to my power,” boasted Luthor.

“A mistake…you’ll regret,” said Ares, still too weak to get up.

“I’m willing to take that chance to prove myself to man and god alike. I want you all to see what a truly superior being can do with this power you so blatantly misuse!”

“Is that what this is about Luthor? Using power to prove your superiority?” said a still sore Superman.

“Hardly,” he scoffed. “I don’t need to prove my superiority. I already am superior. What I do – I do to expose the hypocrisy of gods like Ares and beings like you, Superman. All that power and skill – what exactly did you do to earn it? You never had to fight for it. Just like these pathetic gods, you live apart from humanity while seeking to control their fate.”

As Lex chastised him with his harsh words, a fresh round of tremors rocked the area around the Tomb of Erebus. It looked ready to crumble at any moment. At this point, Luthor had grown so big and channeled so much power that there was no stopping it.

“That’s the worst part about beings like you. You’re so eager to influence man, but you’re never willing to share the fruits of your power. You always seek to stay above of us. Well guess what? That ends today! I am going to take this power and I’m going to bring it into the world you thought you were saving. I’m going to use it to reshape and rebuild it – not according to the will of false gods or aliens, but in accord with humanity’s best interests.”

“Don’t you mean _your_ best interests?” spat Wonder Woman.

“You keep forgetting that I am a man. I don’t claim to be anything else. Who better to guide humanity into a new golden era – free of gods or aliens – than its greatest genius?”

It was tempting to assume that Lex Luthor had gone mad with power. That might actually make what he said less disturbing. But the most terrifying part of his tirade was that he sounded completely sane and completely in control.

He meant every word he said. He was prepared to wield the power of the gods to create the world he wanted. He didn’t bother mentioning innocent people or whether those people even wanted to live in that world. He didn’t even mention the kind of damage he would do with this power that even gods couldn’t contain. It was safe to assume he didn’t intend to let anything stop him. They had all passed the point of no return.

No longer concerning himself with the petty arguments of inferior minds, Lex Luthor looked up towards the Gate of Eos. The power he usurped from the gods was just stable enough to allow what he had planned. By now, the Annihilator Armor had grown to the size of a building. Still holding the dagger up to channel the power from Erebus, he made sure he stopped growing after a certain point. At that same point, the rest of the Tomb of Erebus collapsed.

“Time to begin my rightful ascension!” Lex proclaimed.

Another massive quake followed as the rocky mount collapsed like an erupting volcano. Superman, Wonder Woman, Ares, and everyone else near the tomb were blown back as a shockwave ripped through the air. The destruction of the tomb unleashed a blinding column of energy that briefly took a humanoid form. However, Lex continued to channel that energy, distorting the form and drawing it into the Annihilator Armor. From there, he projected it up into the Gate of Eos above.

This act turned the unstable portal into a gaping hole that undermined the very fabric of the space between the realms. But Lex didn’t care. Nobody was going to convince him that he couldn’t control this power. Nobody was going to stand in his way. With the power of gods and god-like forces at his disposal, Lex Luthor used this new power to levitate and ascend towards the Gate of Eos above. Knowing that the innocent people on the other side were woefully unprepared to deal with him, Superman and Wonder Woman had few choices.

“We have to…go after him,” said Wonder Woman, shaking off the effects of the shockwave.

“With that kind of power…in that form…what are our chances?” wondered Superman as he looked up at the massive display.

“Does it matter?” she questioned.

“No. It doesn’t.”

The daunting power Luthor displayed did not dissuade them in the slightest. As the land around the ruins of the tomb became more unstable, they didn’t have time to contemplate additional options. Despite their heads still ringing from the effects of the shockwave, Superman and Wonder Woman took off to go after Luthor. But before they got too far, the now-weakened Ares reached up and grabbed Superman’s cape.

“Wait! Don’t…fight him,” he urged.

“I think we’ve heard enough of your advice, Ares,” said Superman as he easily yanked his cape out of his hand.

“No…you don’t…understand,” said the God of War weakly. “The armor…don’t…fight it.”

It was hard to make out what he meant. Ares had no credibility whatsoever at this point. Wonder Woman even flew back to pull Superman away so he wouldn’t be tempted to listen. Ares tried to say more, but more chaos soon erupted.

With the Tomb of Erebus now destroyed and Luthor ascending through the Gate of Eos, the defenses that once surrounded the area shattered and the armies Ares once controlled began pouring into the area. With the God of War now weakened, nothing was guiding them. They followed only chaos. That effectively drew them to the energy unleashed by Erebus and the Gate of Eos. Without Ares, they threatened to do even more damage.

“Looks like there’s still plenty of fighting to go around,” said Wonder Woman as she watched the undead armies descend upon the area. “Is this your doing Ares?”

“No. I am…no longer in control,” admitted the God of War.

“They’re going for the gate!” said Superman. “If they follow Luthor through…”

“They won’t. Look!” said Wonder Woman, pointing out into the distance.

As dire as this situation had become, they were not alone in facing it. Both the Amazons and the Sons of Leuctra were still ready to fight. The quakes and shockwaves left them stunned, but it didn’t affect their resolve.

“Looks like Ares’ blunders keep adding up. Guess we’ll have fix them,” said King Agesilaus III, shaking off injury and fatigue to address his men. “Spartans, stand and defend the gate! Let none of these beasts pass into the world of man!”

“For Sparta!” they all replied in perfect harmony.

“The Amazons will do their part as well. We cannot let the blood from this war be on our hands,” said Hippolyta, still standing by the Spartan King as she addressed her sisters. “Amazons, our code may say that we cannot fight alongside men. But in times like these, we must stand with fellow warriors. And we are warriors!”

Hippolyta might have lost her position as queen, but she was still a warrior. This time, she spoke with the spirit of a warrior. While some, like Aleka, still looked at her with suspicion, their warrior spirit left little room for doubt.

“We are warriors!” the Amazons replied.

Despite being vastly outnumbered and still quite shaken from everything they had experienced thus far, the Amazons and the Sons of Leuctra gathered their weapons and formed battle lines. For the first time in centuries, Amazons stood side-by-side with men in battle. Traditions of hatred and mistrust fell to the wayside as they stared down the charging hordes of beasts and undead. Being a man or a woman no longer mattered. For this fight, they were all warriors.

These battle lines, now under the command of Hippolyta and King Agesilaus III, stonewalled the incoming attack. They did not allow the beasts to pass and join Luthor in his reckless endeavor. As the battle began, Hippolyta looked back towards her daughter for a brief moment. In the distance, their eyes met. She could already sense how this battle was going to unfold. She could also sense how her daughter intended to fight it. Her first instinct was to tell her daughter to turn back and not fight this battle. However, those instincts had proven her wrong time and again. This time, she followed her heart.

“Go, my warrior princess,” she said under her breath. “I believe in you. When this is over, I hope you’ll be able to believe in me as well.”

Wonder Woman got the message. Nothing needed to be said. She understood what her mother was doing. She was giving her and Superman a chance to take down Lex Luthor. They wouldn’t have much time, but she had faith that they would make good use of it. And despite all the bitterness between them, she had no intention of letting her mother down.

“Think they’ll be okay?” said Superman as he watched the battle unfold.

“They’re warriors, Kal. They’ll be fine,” assured Wonder Woman. “Now let’s go kick Lex Luthor’s ass!”

“Diana, that might be the most romantic thing you’ve ever said to me.”

The two lovers smiled, exchanging looks of strength to prepare them for the battle ahead. Like the Amazons and the Spartans, they had to stand together if they were to have any hope against this threat. Now holding hands, Superman and Wonder Woman ascended together towards the Gate of Eos and an uncertain fate.

* * *

**Oblivion Prison**

Behind the downfall of every great king was a much greater tragedy. The gods of Olympus had watched such tragedies play out time and again among mortals, with and without their intervention. There had been times of great discord and struggle, but they managed to avoid such a downfall, even after the mortals stopped worshipping them. What made their defeat at the hands of Ares so devastating was that it didn’t take a great tragedy. It took only their desperation and arrogance. For Zeus, it was an inglorious way for his reign to end.

_‘Damn you, Ares. Damn you for being an insolent brat of a son. Everything I’ve built…the order I fought to maintain after all these centuries…destroyed in an instant by your petty war. You would desecrate the world of mortals and gods to instill your own order, yet you fail to demonstrate the lightest understanding of order. You will be the ruin of us all. I should make you regret your mistake for letting me live, but to what end? Is this our fate? Are gods and man destined to descend into chaos?’_

These were thoughts that no god or titan had ever contemplated. For so long now, Zeus focused so intently on maintaining his rule and securing the order that kept their realm intact that his thoughts rarely deviated. Now, trapped in a prison at the hands of his own son, he could allow himself to contemplate these dire thoughts.

_‘I should’ve listened to the oracles. I should’ve listened to my own instinct. I could sense something amiss within the chaos, but I refused to accept that my own son could be so devious. I refused to accept that any of my fellow gods would be so devious. Perhaps my own father, Cronus, suspected the same. He believed his authority was strong and his order robust. How fitting is it that I make the same mistake?’_

His thoughts frequently drifted between his son and his own father, Cronus. It seemed to be one of the many burdens that kings had to bear. Sons often felt entitled to the crown worn by their father. They often saw their fathers as inept, believing themselves to be the solution whatever problems their father had failed to solve. Their youth and their inexperience blinded them to any notion to the contrary. Even among immortals, the mistakes seemed unavoidable.

Now these mistakes may end up destroying more than Olympus. Ares could never see beyond the next battle. Zeus doubted he could see the damage he was doing to his realm, the realm of the mortals, and everything in between. He actually thought in his bloodlust that he could unlock the Tomb of Erebus and control the power it unleashed. He was dead wrong and he probably wouldn’t realize that until it was too late. With so little standing in his way, the former King of the Gods could only dread the carnage his son would unleash. As far as he knew, only Diana was in a position to oppose him.

Once his thoughts drifted to Diana, Zeus’ demeanor shifted. If there was a sliver of hope that someone could stop Ares, it lay with his daughter. She faced such overwhelming odds and such daunting forces, but he didn’t doubt for a moment that she would fight. Of all the illegitimate children he had sired over the centuries, few embodied Diana’s spirit. If there was any good to come from this chaos, it was her.

_‘Even if I am doomed by my mistakes, Diana will not be one of them. She will fight. She will find a way to survive. She will continue to embody the very best of what Olympus stands for. While I had to break my promise to Hera to bring her into this world, I will not face the consequences with regret. I just wish there was a way for me to do right by my children for once.’_

This moment of clarity came too little too late for Zeus. He held his head low, lamenting the struggle that Diana had to endure by herself and without the aid of her father or the gods. He would never get a chance to explain to her why he did what he did, lying to her and her mother. Perhaps that was another burden that gods and kings had to bear.

Zeus’ thoughts finally settled as he began accepting the fate he had wrought. It wouldn’t be long now. Ares had probably already unlocked the Tomb of Erebus. Before long, he would realize the breadth of his mistake. Before long, there wouldn’t be much left of this world or that of the mortals to undo that mistake. As a king and a father, he had failed.

“Forgive me, my children,” said Zeus in a solemn tone. “I didn’t just fail you. I failed us all.”

“Really? It takes you _this_ long to show a shred of humility?” said a crass, yet familiar voice.

The sound of that voice jolted the former King of Olympus from his thoughts. He thought his words would fall on deaf ears in this endless abyss. As he listened to the echoes of the voice, he felt his cell move until hit arrived at a portal where he confronted one the second to last person he wanted to see.

“Hera…just when I thought fate couldn’t be any crueler,” said Zeus with a mix of shock and dismay.

“Speak for yourself, dear husband,” said Hera dryly. “I’m extremely tempted to just stand here and enjoy this. You being this helpless is a novel concept to say the least. And as much as I want to berate you for the next several centuries, we’ve got a situation with our son.”

“Indeed we do,” said Zeus, “But I was under the impression he locked you out. Ares made it a point to brag about exploiting your jealousy.”

“He did and I fully intend to make him suffer for his bragging. Whether by fate or luck, I now have an opportunity. You can thank someone else who subverted our rules for that.”

Hera stepped aside briefly to reveal who had helped her re-enter the realm. It was Hessia, an Amazon that both her sisters and Olympus had exiled for forbidden study of the mystic arts. She was back in her Amazon armor, showing no regrets for what she did. For once, Hera was actually glad that someone defied her.

“It is a privilege to be in your presence again, Lord Zeus,” said Hessia, bowing respectfully.

“Don’t give him more respect than he deserves, Hessia,” said Hera dryly. “As far as I’m concerned, you’re the least guilty participant in this unfolding catastrophe.”

“I don’t care what my role is. I came to Themyscira in hopes of assisting Diana. I had no idea it had gotten this bad already. But with Lady Hera’s help, I was able to break the lock on the Gate of Tartarus.”

“I’m glad you did. Can you use those same talents to release me from this prison? There may still be time to thwart Ares before he does too much damage!”

“Stop right there, dear husband. You’re getting ahead of yourself at a time when you’ve precious little leverage,” said Hera, holding Hessia back before Zeus could start giving orders. “Nobody’s going anywhere until we address a few issues that we’ve been avoiding for the past several _centuries_ or so.”

Zeus frowned at his wife. He never tolerated her talking down to him like this. His first inclination was to yell at her as he had done for so long as king. He had to remind himself that he no longer wielded that authority. For once, Hera had all the leverage. It was an uncomfortable position, but one he couldn’t avoid.

For a moment, Hera tried to enjoy this. Standing before her husband and seeing him trapped in this prison cell was so satisfying on a purely selfish level. For so long, Zeus had exercised his power with complete impunity and reckless abandon. He always kept her under his thumb, treating her as a subject more than a wife. For a moment, all his lies and acts of infidelity flashed before her eyes. Then she recalled what Superman had told her and she reminded herself why she chose this path.

“Let me make one thing clear – I don’t have to free you,” said Hera strongly. “I could just as easily have Hessia here free all the other gods that Ares imprisoned. Together, we could probably hold our own against Ares. We might even be able to take him down.”

“And you could just let me rot in this prison for all eternity, regardless of the outcome. But if you were going to do that, you wouldn’t be talking to me right now, would you?”

“Not like this, I wouldn’t,” she said bitterly. “Fortunately for you – and unfortunately for my chronic jealousy – I sobered up long enough to have a conversation with the man bedding _your_ daughter.”

“You almost sound proud when you say it like that,” said Zeus.

“I don’t get many chances to gloat so don’t spoil this for me. While I doubt you would like anyone who captures the heart of your bastards, you would be wise to listen to men like Superman. He has the power of a god. He could easily stand beside us and hold his own. He could just as easily assert himself on the mortals, demanding worship and doing as he damn well pleases – just as we’ve done for so long. And yet, he _doesn’t_.”

“Are we supposed to admire that?”

“We don’t have to admire it to learn from it. Our world might be very different compared to the mortal world. We do not always have the luxury of doing the right thing because it’s rarely enough to instill order. At least, that’s the excuse we’ve always told ourselves. At times, the entire foundation of Olympus is built on those excuses. We now know how weak that foundation was in the long run so if we’re going to do anything to save Olympus, we need a different approach.”

Hera finally stopped sounding so smug and vindictive. She now spoke to her husband in the most reasonable tone she had in centuries. It actually impressed Zeus somewhat, her looking beyond his many failures and speaking to him as a fellow god. For once, past bitterness would not cloud her judgment.

“I told Superman that he had no chance against Ares. I even told him Diana had probably failed already, but that might have just been my own personal bias talking,” Hera continued.

“It might have been more than that, but I won’t assume the details,” said Zeus.

“But no matter what I told him, he kept insisting that he and Diana would find a way. He had no idea what he was up against. He had even less an idea of how powerful Ares had become. It still didn’t matter. He went into battle anyways – not just to save the woman he loved, but to save the mortals who don’t even worship him.”

“And you admire his dedication to protecting those mortals?” questioned the former King of the Gods. “You never gave the impression you cared much for any mortals beyond the Amazons.”

“Speak for yourself,” she retorted. “It’s not his dedication to protecting the innocent that struck me. It was his confidence – his faith that he could find a way. That more than anything sobered me up. It’s a question we gods stopped asking long ago. Is there a better way? If so, are we incapable of finding it?”

These were profound questions that few gods contemplated. The whole concept felt uncomfortably mortal. For so long, the gods operated through power and authority. Zeus himself was the embodiment of this way. It might have helped him secure his rule, but that rule had been quite tenuous at times. He never even allowed himself to think that there might be another way. Now, in Olympus’ darkest hour, they needed one.

However, finding this way meant making some uncomfortable choices that Hera hoped to avoid. Glaring at her selfish, unfaithful husband, she was so tempted to choose the path that would exact upon him the justice he had been immune from for so long. But that choice would come at a price and she had paid a high enough price for her selfish choices.

“What exactly are you suggesting, Hera? What are you asking of me?” asked Zeus intently.

“Probably the most unreasonable thing a scorned queen can ask of her arrogant king,” she said, a touch of bitterness still lingering in her tone. “While I have many choices before me in battling Ares, fate still restricts those choices that give us the best chance. Like it or not, you are still the mightiest of the gods. You have the power to do more than just stop Ares. You might actually be able to undo the damage he inflicts.”

“And you deem the latter more important than the former? That’s an impressive assessment for a queen.”

“Don’t try to charm me, Zeus. It might work with all the mortal women you seduce, but it won’t work with me.”

“Your eyes beg to differ,” he quipped.

“Then look me in the eye when I give to you a choice that will determine the future of mortals, gods, and the worlds they inhabit. If I were to free you, would you promise to find a way to stop Ares _and_ save our worlds? A better way that involves more than exercising sheer power and authority?”

“You know I would gladly make such a promise to my queen. My only concern is…would you believe me if I did?”

“I don’t know. That’s why I’m still so damn tempted to let you rot here. So if there’s anything at all that you could say to make me feel less _disgusted_ by this choice, now is the time to say it. No more excuses. No more lies. Just be honest with me for once in your immortal life.”

She kept glaring at him with those powerful eyes of hers. In them, Zeus saw so many emotions. Hera had centuries of hatred, jealousy, and anger influencing her whim. At the same time, he saw in her the same emotions that made her the Goddess of Womanhood.

Even after his many transgressions, Hera still embodied the greatest strengths of women. She was strong and passionate, yet focused and determined. These strengths were among the many reasons why he sought to make her his queen. It might not have been out of love, but Zeus still respected Hera in ways not afforded to other gods. Now she had to be more than a queen and he had to be more than a king. She had already chosen that path. Now he had to choose it as well and convince her that he was just as willing to make that choice.

“Hera…I know there’s nothing I can say that will temper your resentment. This time, I have no excuses or decrees,” said Zeus. “I have only regret for the pain my mistakes have wrought.”

“I doubt you’ll lose much sleep over your regrets so you’ll have to do better than that,” Hera scoffed.

“Then allow me to add some perspective on my latest regret – the one involving Hippolyta,” he continued.

Now he had both Hera and Hessia’s attention. This secret act of infidelity was what triggered this crisis in the first place. If ever Zeus had a reason for his transgressions, this was the time to make it good.

“What I did…I did for several reasons. Yes, my own selfish lust was a part of it. That much I will not deny,” said Zeus.

“At least you’re honest about it,” muttered Hera. “I’m still plenty disgusted.”

“But it was not the primary reason. After what happened between Hercules and the Amazons, I saw first-hand just how terribly I had failed as a father. Whether sired by mortals or gods, I could not produce an offspring that embodied all the traits Olympus would need for its next king.”

“Next king?” said Hera with a raised eyebrow. “You actually considered letting someone else inherit the throne? Excuse me if I find that hard to believe.”

“It’s the truth. Do you think I want to spend eternity bearing the burdens of the crown? You know the prophecies of the oracles as much as I do. Kings that remain on the throne for too long eventually get usurped. More often than not, jealous sons will rise up. And the atrocities committed by Hercules and the sordid affairs carried out by Hades left me too disgusted to even _contemplate_ passing on the crown. That’s why I turned Olympus away from the world of mortals. That’s why I became so focused on maintaining my rule. There was no one else who could stand in my place. Ask yourself, Hera – would we have stopped the chaos if someone like Ares or Hercules ascended to the throne?”

It was a disturbing thought, giving some of Zeus’ points a begrudging bit of validity. As miserable as Hera was for so many centuries, she didn’t doubt for a second that this misery would’ve been worse if Ares or Hercules had been king. As detestable a husband Zeus might have been, he did ensure a certain level of stability over the centuries. However, it still wasn’t enough.

“At some point, I wanted to sire an offspring that could be stronger and more virtuous than any of us could ever hope to be,” Zeus continued. “We are all tainted by our memories of the war against the Titans. Many more are tainted by the atrocities committed by my offspring. So when Hippolyta came along, praying for a child, I saw an opportunity to get it right.”

“You had to know on some levels how much it was going to hurt me,” Hera pointed out.

“You’re right. I did. That’s why I went to such great lengths to conceal the truth. That’s why I gave her the story about forging her from clay. In Hippolyta, I saw a woman who strived to achieve the ideals that we gods so frequently negate. In many ways, she is a testament to your guidance, Hera. So much of what she became comes from you.”

“You’re still trying to charm me and it’s still not working.”

“It’s still the truth. I know that Hippolyta would be the kind of mother who would instill those virtues. She would be untainted by the war against the Titans – untainted by the atrocities of Hercules. She could become the very best of everything the gods had to offer. And in many ways, she did. As we speak, she’s fighting to save a world that has scorned and rejected her. She knows she will always be an outcast among her sisters. She knows she will never be truly mortal. But she does it anyways because she knows it to be right. Is that not something we can all admire and learn from?”

This detestable excuse for a king finally said something that resonated with Hera. That mention of her doing the right thing reminded her of the conversation she had with Superman. What Diana did and what Superman did was something far greater than any god or demigod had dared before. It inspired her to make this fateful choice that led her to confronting her husband like this. It made too much sense to be another one of her husband’s many secrets. It made what he had to say much harder to discount.

“I’m under no illusions. I know that Diana may never aspire to be Queen of the Amazons, ruler of Olympus, or anything more than a great warrior,” Zeus continued, “But her very existence is a testament to what we strive to be. And I still want to keep striving. I want to preserve Olympus and all the glory we’ve created. I know I do not deserve more chances. I also understand that I must find a new way to achieve what Diana has already achieved.”

“And just how far are you willing to go if I gave you that chance?” asked Hera more seriously. “Would you still do what’s necessary or would you be willing to do what’s right?”

Zeus paused for another moment before answering that question, knowing Hera would not accept anything other than the honest truth. This time, despite his many inclinations to do otherwise, Zeus had no intention of succumbing to past fate.

“I don’t think there’s an answer to that question that would satisfy you, Hera,” he said. “Being willing to do something has never been an issue for gods. We have to be willing to do more than just act.”

“What more could we possibly do besides act?” she asked curiously.

“Sacrifice,” Zeus answered strongly. “We’ve asked the mortals to sacrifice plenty over the centuries. The time has come for us to return the favor. And for the good of Olympus and the good of all we stand for, I am willing to sacrifice what I must to stop this chaos.”

A heavy silence came over the two jaded spouses. Hera kept glaring at her husband, studying him in every conceivable manner. Old bitterness and newfound clarity clashed, leaving her conflicted. If she chose to release him, then what was to stop Zeus from exacting revenge on her and everyone else who had aided Ares? How could she possibly trust a man who had such an extensive history of lies and deceit?

At the same time, however, she thought back to what she saw in Diana and Kal-El. She once considered them foolish for having faith in others to do the right thing. It defied every godly instinct that she had. However, those same instincts helped create this crisis. If they were going to find a better way, then it had to start somewhere. It might as well be here.

Swallowing centuries of disgust and many lingering reservations, Hera turned to Hessia and nodded. The exiled Amazon was actually surprised by her choice, but she complied. Utilizing the same talents that helped her break the seal between realms, Hessia cast a spell that freed Zeus from his cell.

It remained tense as he stepped out and approached Hera. For a moment he just stared back at her. Then, in an act that surprised them both, Zeus affectionately caressed her face and smiled.

“You’ve just proven you’re better than I could ever hope to be, Hera. Thank you,” he said to her.

“Whatever,” she replied, pretending it didn’t strike an emotional chord with her. “It still doesn’t make us even.”

“No. It does not. We’ll have plenty of time to discuss that later though. For now, we must act!” he said strongly.

“What do you need of us, Lord Zeus?” asked Hessia, still willing to contribute as much as an exiled Amazon could.

“For now, I need you do for the other gods as you did for me. Free them from this prison and lead them back to Olympus. They must reclaim it from Ares’ forces.”

“I doubt they’ll need much motivation to do that,” said Hera.

“But they will need guidance. That is why I am giving you provincial authority over this battle, Hera. We both agree we need to try another way. Now I’m giving you a chance to seek it.”

Hera looked at him in disbelief for a moment. Zeus had never granted provincial authority to anybody, let alone her. But he was dead serious. He really was going to see this through, attempting to do the right thing for the right reasons for once.

“I uh…it will be done,” Hera found herself saying.

“And I will help,” said Hessia. “What about you?”

“I’m going after Ares,” said Zeus, now speaking as the powerful god they knew him to be. “I’m going to stop my son and undo his madness. If he has unlocked the Tomb of Erebus, then I must be the one to contain it. We must all act quickly! With every second that passes, the sacrifice we’re destined to make only grows.”

Now free and determined, the King of the Gods flew through the portal leading out of the Oblivion Prison, leaving Hera and Hessia to do the rest. He could already sense the growing imbalance of forces consuming this realm and that of the mortals. Time was running out. The damage Ares had done was dangerously close to being permanent. He couldn’t let that happen. He knew that if he could not confront this chaos in time, then his daughter surely would and he was not about to doom another one of his children to such a cruel fate.

* * *

**New Mexico – Helion Solar Test Range**

“Behold, my fellow man! A being truly worthy of worship!” proclaimed Lex Luthor as he emerged from the Gate of Eos.

The sun had finally risen over the New Mexico desert, illuminating for everyone the emergence of a new power greater than any false gods. When Lex stepped out from the Gate of Eos in the Annihilator Armor, it felt like he was ushering in a new world where man had no need for gods and aliens. Between the power generated by the Cerberus Generators and the power he usurped from Erebus, nothing could stop him.

After fully emerging from the gate, Lex stood in the center of the test range and just soaked in this new power. He could hear the Cerberus Generators humming. He could feel the Gate of Eos growing unstable from his manipulations. It all came together in a moment of genius that outwitted the gods and the forces they claimed to control. It was a satisfying, but incomplete moment. Gaining this power was just the first step. Putting it to good use, giving mankind something truly worthy of worship, would be a far more fruitful endeavor.

This promised to be the easy part. Now standing as tall as an office building, Lex had every intention of demonstrating his power to his fellow man. He could already feel the eyes of those present at the test range looking up in awe. They were the lucky ones. They were the first to admire his genius, but they would be by no means the last.

“So _this_ is what it feels like to be a god among men,” he laughed. “I must say, it’s not nearly as invigorating as I thought.”

“Then maybe you’ll enjoy feeling like a corpse instead!” yelled a booming voice.

Lex rolled his eyes within the armor as he saw Apollo emerge from one of the main hangers, blowing through the heavy doors with a devastating beam of light. It would’ve been a much more impressive display of power if it hadn’t come from such a feeble excuse for a god.

Apollo was so enraged that he barely noticed the imposing size and overwhelming power of the Annihilator Amor. He was still processing what this pestilent mortal had just done. He didn’t just hijack his whole operation on this site. He hijacked the power of Erebus. This was an affront to him and every god on Olympus. He could not let it stand.

Now surrounded in a massive halo of light, Apollo hovered a few hundred feet in the air, giving off the energy of a miniature sun. It filled nearly the entire test range with blinding light and he prepared to direct it at only one source.

“You think you know the power of a god? You will burn for your arrogance!” roared Apollo.

“Speak for yourself,” said Lex curtly.

The God of Light unleashed the full force of his power against the Annihilator Armor. When it hit, it struck with the force of solar flare. Lex guarded the head of the armor with his arms, absorbing and deflecting the energy. He could feel it pressing down on him with the weight of a mountain, but it did little more than annoy him.

“You must be, Mr. Disole. Or do you prefer Apollo now?” taunted Luthor in the midst of the onslaught. “I have a message from Ares that you might want to hear.”

Apollo only responded with an angry grunt before channeling more power into his blast. The forces unleashed were great. At one point, Luthor had to dig in his heels to keep himself from being pushed back too far. Parts of the concrete where he was standing actually started to liquefy. It was an impressive show of power to a lesser mind, but Lex Luthor was by no means a lesser mind.

He began pushing back, intent on delivering this message. Armed with a power greater than any god, he stammered forward through the massive beam of energy, braving it as though it were a powerful wind. Apollo tried in vain to increase the power, so much so that he began straining himself. But he refused to back down, as was to be expected of a false god. When Luthor finally got close enough, he actually saw a hint of fear in this powerful being’s eyes. That fear turned to utter dread when he reached out and grasped Apollo in his hand, effectively ending his attack and snuffing out the light surrounding him.

“Ungh!” Apollo exclaimed. “Unhand me…mortal.”

“You say that word as though it were an insult. Is mortality really so demeaning? Why mankind ever worshipped beings like you is _pathetic_ ,” scoffed Luthor.

“You…will suffer…for your crimes,” spat Apollo.

“You know, Ares told me the same thing – albeit with different words. That’s why this message I have to give is so important. And for once, you’re going to listen like the inferior power you are.”

He then squeezed Apollo within his grasp, causing him to groan in a pain he had likely never experienced before. Lex tried not to enjoy it too much. He needed Apollo to be coherent enough to hear what he had to say.

“Being mortal means we must earn whatever power we obtain. Gods like you and Ares – you’ve never had to earn _anything_. You just take it and nothing can stop you…until now that is. Ares just found out what happens when a mortal with a superior intellect goes up against a god with superior strength. In the end, it reveals just how underserved your divinity truly is.”

To help reinforce his message, Lex roughly slammed Apollo into the hard concrete below. This time he allowed himself to enjoy it. Being able to seriously hurt a god brought out a special kind of satisfaction. He could’ve probably crushed him like a bug and made him the first victim of his new reign, but that would be too merciful. After making sure he was in sufficient discomfort, Luthor picked him up again, holding him only by his arms as Apollo now hung limp and weak in his grasp.

“Hnn…” was all he could get out.

“You gods will never appreciate your power, nor will you ever do anything meaningful with it. You’ll only ever hoard it for your own selfish ends. Well that ends today! Lex Luthor is going to usher in a new era for man and god alike. And since I’ve made my message so abundantly clear to you, why don’t you share it with the rest of your phony gods?”

Now confident Apollo would convey this sentiment to every other false gods, Luthor threw him into the Gate of Eos with enough force to ensure he would be in a great deal of discomfort when he landed. It was among the last loose ends, disposing of the petty rivalry between these phony gods. It wouldn’t be much longer now before no being, god or otherwise, could stand in his way.

Still standing before the Gate of Eos and clutching the Dagger of Deimos, Luthor continued to absorb more power. The gate remained unstable, but it kept channeling the energy from Erebus through the dagger. It continued to fight him, but it could not defy him any more than false gods could defy him. As it flowed into him, he sensed a growing connection to the forces between realms. The energies between world of Olympus and the world of mortals converged through him, ensuring his dominance over both.

“Yes! Come to me, Erebus. Stop resisting!” said Luthor intently. “I can feel the web of forces that bind our realms. It’s like gaining countless new limbs, each governed by my will. The armies, energies, and powers these false gods once wielded – I’ll bet they never wielded anything like this! This world and theirs will be mine to reshape. Soon, nothing will stand in my way!”

“Don’t be so sure about, Luthor,” said a determined voice from within the portal.

Lex instantly recognized it, but didn’t have a chance to react when Superman and Wonder Woman came flying through the Gate of Eos at high speeds. Together, they flew in and struck him simultaneously in the head, hitting with the force of a small meteor. While it was not devastating, it was enough to knock him off balance and disrupt his moment of triumph.

Superman and Wonder Woman made sure to put some distance between him and the gate. They didn’t fully understand Luthor’s methods, but they knew his endgame. Knowing the fate of two realms lay in the balance, they prepared to face this man despite his overwhelming size and power.

“I hope that hurt,” said Wonder Woman, already clenching her fists in anticipation.

“Me too, but we’re probably going to need a lot more than that,” said Superman.

“So we’ll hit him again. He might be oversized, overpowered, and overconfident – but we still have the most important advantage.”

“And what’s that?”

“Each other,” she answered.

“You sure that’s going to be enough?”

“We have _others_ , but that will be the most important if we’re to get through this.”

The two lovers exchanged smiled, ready to stand by one another for the coming battle. They came together by an accident of fate. They built their love from difficult choices and powerful passions. Now fate and choice had led them to this moment where they had to share the burdens of their struggles and trust one another to fight with all their heart. Knowing the fight ahead of them test and strain them in every conceivable way, Superman and Wonder Woman prepared to face this battle together.

* * *

**Up next: Pain and Sacrifice**


	19. Pain and Sacrifice

**Strangers In Paradise**   
**Chapter 19: Pain and Sacrifice**

* * *

**New Mexico – Helion Solar Test Range**

Lex Luthor never expected that his ascension to prominence would be easy. Having gone to such great lengths to unlock the secrets of the Olympians and outwit the beings that dared called themselves gods, he prepared himself for plenty of frustrations. Yet in the end, his greatest frustrations did not come from false gods. It came from an old and familiar enemy.

“Superman…I was hoping you and Wonder Woman would show up,” said Lex Luthor from within the now massive Annihilator Armor. “You never can stop yourself from delaying my triumph, can you?”

“And you can never stop yourself from making an ongoing cataclysm even worse, Luthor,” said Superman. “I know you’re really enjoying your new god-like power, but we won’t let you use it to wreck two worlds.”

“You think I need your permission to remake these worlds as only my genius can? And they say I have an ego,” he laughed.

Despite having just taken a powerful blow from Superman and Wonder Woman, Lex Luthor easily shook it off. The Annihilator Armor, along with the energy flowing through it, made it plenty resilient. He only stammered back slightly, more annoyed than disoriented. The arrival of these two pseudo-gods didn’t concern him in the slightest. They might as well be flies buzzing around his face.

The stage was now set for the final battle in this war that had taken so many different turns. With the unstable Gate of Eos behind them, Superman and Wonder Woman hovered side-by-side in preparation for another attack. Luthor, his imposing form radiating the vast energies of the gods, stood ready to crush them and enjoy every second of it. Despite this overwhelming power, the two lovers stood ready to stop him from unleashing his madness on mortals and gods alike.

“You have more than just a bloated ego. You’re wielding a power you can’t possibly understand!” shouted Wonder Woman. “Do you have any idea the kind of damage you’re doing, Luthor? Do you even care?”

“Whatever damage I do is justified. Whatever suffering my genius incurs is necessary,” said Luthor without apology.

“Then it’s necessary for us to stop you!” said Superman strongly.

He and Wonder Woman began their attack, flying towards him at high speeds again and seeking another strike. This time, they diverged from one another along the way, going in different directions so they could come in at different angles. They couldn’t expect to catch Luthor by surprise again so they had to utilize new tactics.

Now flying around Luthor’s massive form, Superman made the first move, hitting him with his an onslaught of his heat vision. Luthor instinctively blocked it with his arm, which gave Wonder Woman just enough room to fly in and strike at the torso. She tried leading with both hands, flying at speeds rivaling a bullet from a gun. It had an impact that Luthor clearly felt, but didn’t leave much of a dent. This didn’t stop her from attempting another pass, avoiding Luthor’s efforts to swat her out of the sky in the process. Superman kept on hitting with his heat vision, but all that did was annoy him.

Luthor attempted to deflect some of the heat beams with his hand, nearly redirecting it right towards Superman at one point. It forced him to change directions in mid-air, making him vulnerable to one of Luthor’s swats. He avoided it, but it put him on the defensive.

“Do you honestly think you can win like this, Superman?” laughed Luthor.

“I can still fight you. That’s all I ever need with you, Luthor,” replied Superman as he evaded the counterstrike.

“I’m not some mechanical monstrosity or phony god. I am a superior intellect armed with the power to raze entire worlds!”

“No. You’re a man with a sick sense of entitlement who can’t stop making excuses,” shot Superman.

“And you’re an alien pretending to be human. What’s your excuse?”

Superman attempted to hit him again with more heat vision, but this time Luthor was able to block and redirect the blast so that it hit him with his own power. It left Superman stunned just long enough for him to finally strike him with a punishing swat that sent him tumbling through the air.

It was the first time Lex Luthor had been able to strike Superman himself in a way that actually hurt him. It was almost as satisfying as outsmarting false gods. With this power, he could show the world that Superman was no savior or icon. He was just another fraud.

“Why do I bother asking?” scoffed Luthor. “You can’t possibly understand the beauty of my vision. A man usurping the power of the gods and using it to remake this imperfect world you constantly struggle to save – it’s not just necessary. It’s for the greater good! Surely you _superheroes_ can understand that.”

It took a moment for Superman’s head to stop ringing so he could reorient himself in the air. Shaking off the pain and the echoes of Luthor’s annoying proclamations, he flew in for another attack.

“You’re not equipped to understand the greater good, Luthor,” shouted Superman. “You keep confusing it with your ego.”

“And you keep confusing justice with yours!” spat Superman.

“You don’t understand justice either. Men like you never will!” yelled Wonder Woman who flew towards her lover.

“And women like you keep fighting fruitless battles.”

While Superman was momentarily stunned, Wonder Woman flew in to attack his head again. Lex tried to swat her out of the sky again. He missed on the first attempt, but he struck her with the back of his hand on the second. This sent Wonder Woman crashing into the roof of one of the hangers, knocking her clear through the concrete and leaving a gaping hole.

Seeing this man strike her lover filled Superman with a more focused determination. Lex Luthor had committed many atrocities that he would never atone for, but this was one that could not go unpunished.

“You just made the worst mistake of your life, Luthor!” yelled Superman.

Lex just kept sneering and attempted to swat him out of the sky as well. He missed several times as Superman went on the evasive, utilizing his super speed to keep him off balanced. When he attempted to crashing between both hands, he stepped up his attack in ways he usually reserved for the most menacing of threats.

Before Luthor’s hands could crush him, he shot up into the sky like a rocket. He quickly accelerated to hypersonic speeds, briefly exiting the atmosphere of the Earth and hovering miles above the surface. In doing so, he came face-to-face with the brilliant glow of the morning sun. Its nourishing yellow light filled him with a fresh surge of energy. After absorbing as much as he could, he shifted direction and flew back down towards the surface at speeds rivaling a comet. He moved so fast that he briefly took the form of a shooting star.

When he made contact with the Annihilator Armor, it unleashed an impact that shook the foundation of the entire test range, causing huge cracks to form in the concrete. Under the weight of such force, it should’ve shattered the Annihilator Armor like glass. It actually sent a sharp sting up through Superman’s arm. However, the armor remained intact. It just left a massive dent in the chest of the armor, knocking it back a few hundred feet and causing it to fall flat on its back.

For a moment, the image of Lex Luthor’s face faded briefly from the head. Then it reappeared, the snide look on his face not changing in the slightest.

“I sense I struck a nerve,” he said.

“Go on, Luthor. I _dare_ you to push your luck!” said Superman, clenching his fists in another threatening display.

“I don’t need luck. I just need you to reveal your vulnerabilities.”

“I’ll show you vulnerability!” came Wonder Woman’s voice from across the test range.

Superman didn’t get a chance to silence Luthor. Wonder Woman, despite enduring a nasty impact, few out from the hole she had just made in the hanger. Like Superman, she moved at such high speeds that Luthor could barely see her. He only saw her ascending into the sky briefly before crashing down again, this time landing with her feet right at the head of the armor. This caused Luthor’s face to flicker again. The impact even seemed to disrupt the energy flowing from the Gate of Eos briefly. Even with the Annihilator Armor, it had to have stung.

With her boots now dug into the head of the armor, she dared Lex Luthor to reappear. Her determined demeanor, even in the face of overwhelming power, put a smile on Superman’s face.

“Someone had to shut you up, Luthor,” she said firmly.

“And you couldn’t have done it in a more satisfying way,” said Superman.

“Thanks,” she replied, smiling back. “You do know you don’t have to defend my honor like that, right?”

“I know. You’re plenty capable of defending it on your own. You just look a lot better doing it.”

Even in the heat of battle, he still found a way to charm her. It actually made sharing the burden of battle more satisfying. It was an unexpected bonus, but one that made Wonder Woman even more determined to keep fighting.

Their ability to support and fight for one another was admirable, but it did little to impress Lex Luthor. Despite taking to powerful blows that would’ve rendered a lesser being paralyzed, Lex remained only mildly annoyed. He could feel the power within the armor growing restless. It wanted him to finish these two off. He had every intention of obliging it, but he also intended to savor their defeat every step of the way.

“All you’ve done is make this moment more satisfying for me,” he said in a mischievous tone.

The image of his face appeared in the head of the Annihilator Armor again. He saw Wonder Woman still standing on top of him and Superman hovering over him. With the both of them now in his line of sight again, he channeled more power through the armor. It caused entire form to be surrounded in a bright yellowish aura. It also caused the nearby Gate of Eos to flicker again with growing instability, which distracted Superman and Wonder Woman for a brief moment. That was just enough time for him to unleash a concentrated beam of energy through the head of the armor.

“Ahhhhhh!” Wonder Woman cried out as the blinding beam of light briefly engulfed her.

Overwhelming force sent her flying and equally overwhelming pain followed, inflicting on her the punishment of a million armies. It left her unable to brace herself when she hit the hard concrete, leaving a sizable crater and putting her in a world of pain.

“Wonder Woman!” gasped Superman.

“Feeling vulnerable now?” taunted Luthor.

Just as he planned, Wonder Woman’s distress distracted Superman just long enough for him to unleash another concentrated beam. He didn’t get a chance to evade it. Just as before, the energy engulfed him and inflicted the kind of punishment from which his powers could not protect him. It sent Superman flying and rendered him just as paralyzed when he hit the ground a few feet away from Wonder Woman, creating another sizable creator in the process.

Their pained state allowed Luthor to finally pick himself up. The Annihilator Armor had a few dents, but they quickly fixed themselves as soon as he returned to his feet. He then made his way over to the two downed figures, leering over them as they lay weak and vulnerable.

“I hope that’s not all you’ve got because I’m already bored,” said Lex.

He now stood over them so that his massive form dominated their view. His shadow blotted out nearly the entire morning sky over the test range. They remained conscious and determined, but they now had a much better idea of the kind of power they were up against. They tried to pick themselves up, but only made it to their hands and knees. If Superman and Wonder Woman were at all smart, then they would brace themselves for defeat.

“You fight all the wrong battles in all the wrong ways for all the wrong reasons. But like every phony god and savior, you refuse to accept your flaws.” he said to them. “Only a superior mind is able to do what needs to be done. And before you draw your last breath, remember the superior mind that defeated you!”

Lex Luthor raised the massive foot of the Annihilator Armor and prepared to crush the two phony heroes in the most inglorious way possible. He prepared to cherish this moment as much as possible. Ultimate triumph was finally within his grasp.

However, this moment was abruptly interrupted by the sound of several loud explosions within several of the hangers throughout the test range. It startled Lex, nearly causing him to fall flat on his back. He managed to keep his balance only to hear more explosions follow.

“The Cerberus Generators – they’re overloading? That shouldn’t be possible!” he exclaimed. “I cracked those designs months ago. I made sure they could handle it!”

“Then maybe…they’re not overloading. Maybe…this is something else,” said Superman, his voice still weak from the impact he absorbed.

“You’re wrong!” shouted Luthor. “Nothing could’ve disrupted my plan. I took every possible precaution!”

“Lex…if you were a truly superior mind, then you would’ve seen what we were doing the moment we arrived. But you didn’t,” said Wonder Woman, having just struggled back to her feet. “Now you’re about to learn the hard way why it pays to have faith in people.”

For a moment, Lex’s brilliant mind failed to process the implications. He thought he covered every conceivable loose end. He made sure no god, demigod, or alien could outsmart him. He checked and double-checked everything to ensure he would triumph.

Then, as more explosions rocked the other hangers surrounding the test range, it dawned on him. In that moment, Lex Luthor went from superior intellect to foolishly inept. And it promised to cost him more than just certain victory.

* * *

**Meanwhile**

“It’s working! They’re all crashing hard like my old laptop,” announced focused yet stressed Jonathan Carroll.

“I can hear it! If my ears weren’t ringing, I’d be dancing to the music right now,” said an equally stressed but relieved Lois Lane.

Lois was used to being in the crossfire of a volatile situation. That didn’t make these kinds of moments any less tense. Moments ago, she and Jonathan succeeded in the plan they both agreed was obscenely dangerous. But in her experience, obscene danger meant that they were in the best possible position to make a difference.

While the rest of the personnel and guards on the test range evacuated, they stayed behind and snuck into one of the hangers. They then made their way to one of the main interface terminals that connected to the array of generators, which had been running at full capacity for quite some time now. The minutes that followed were tense. Jonathan used his pocket-knife and some nearby tools to open the terminal while Lois made a phone call to a close friend of hers. The moment she uncovered that the hardware in these generators had been built by Lexcorp, she knew she had the key to stopping whatever Lex Luthor and his cohorts had planned. It was just a matter of turning Luthor’s megalomaniacal tendencies against him.

This involved Lois doing some rewiring on the main circuits while Jonathan entered some creative commands into the console, courtesy of instructions sent by her friend over the phone. It was a bit crude, but it allowed them to bypass all the other security features that the folks at Helion Solar thought would be sufficient. They had to essentially crash the operating system, load the basic command prompts, and let Luthor’s hardware do the rest.

“I told you that old hacker friend of mine would come through,” she said proudly as she put her phone away.

“I never doubted you. Nobody should be surprised that someone like Lex Luthor puts self-destruct failsafes in all of his hardware,” said Jonathan as he issued a few more commands on the console.

“He probably assumed nobody at Helion Solar would pick up on it.”

“He also probably assumed nobody would be able to use it against him if he did,” added Jonathan.

“He assumes way too much. It’s a common flaw among egotistical assholes who think they’re smarter than everyone else.”

“Well given all the commotion we’ve been hearing, we’d be smart to get the hell out of here before the rest of these things blow up in our face.”

Lois nodded and went to work preparing their escape, using the rifle she stole from one of the guards to pry open a sewer outlet built into the floor of the hanger. For the past several minutes now, they had been hearing a lot of dangerous noises outside. They didn’t dare stop for a moment to see what was going on. When they felt massive tremors that shook the foundations of every structure on the test range, Lois knew their best bet was to finish what they started. If reporting on Superman had taught her anything, it was that getting distracted only made bad situations worse.

With their escape route set, Jonathan issued the final command into the control console. He could already hear the generators in nearby hangers exploding. He and Lois soon noticed parts of the generators in front of them sparking, a clear sign that Luthor’s failsafe hardware had been activated. It wouldn’t be long now before these generators blew up like the others.

“That’s the last of them. Let’s get the hell out of here!” said Jonathan as he disabled the console by hitting the screen with the butt of his rifle.

“Just try and keep up. I don’t want to miss the fireworks. I just hope all that gear you set up back at the ridge got some juicy footage,” said Lois.

“If all that commotion outside is any indication, then it’ll probably be on the front page for the rest of the week.”

Lois and Jonathan threw aside the rest of the gear they had stolen from the guards and slipped into the narrow sewer tunnel. As soon as they reached the bottom, they followed the walkway in the direction leading away from the test range. They could still feel the tremors and explosions rocking the facility above. Their destruction was sure to disrupt Lex Luthor’s plans and piss him off a great deal, which always made for a good story.

* * *

**New Mexico – Helion Solar Test Range**

“No! The generators – they’re cutting out too soon!” lamented Lex Luthor, already feeling the effects within the Annihilator Armor. “I need more power to absorb Erebus. Without them, I can’t…”

An onslaught of very unpleasant feelings silenced him as the power that had been flowing into him reversed course. As soon as the Cerberus Generators started exploding, the forces flowing through the Gate of Eos changed in all the wrong ways.

In the absence of the energy from the generators, the power of Erebus reversed course. It no longer flowed from the gate into the Annihilator Armor. It poured out of him like a dam that just broke, flowing back through the Gate of Eos at a rate that Luthor couldn’t alter. Massive bolts of dark, purplish energy shot out from the armor, creating a whirlpool around the glowing gate. He could even hear Erebus let out a deafening screech, as though Luthor’s manipulations left it wounded. For a moment, its darkened form took a humanoid shape just outside the gate. It even fought being pulled back in, but the Gate of Eos wouldn’t let it go. It eventually fell through, taking all its power with it.

“No! The power…” gasped Luthor within the Annihilator Armor.

As the power of Erebus left him, the armor began to shrink. Lex could feel all the power he absorbed abandoning him. That overwhelming strength that allowed him to wound Superman and Wonder Woman faded rapidly. It was painful, but not because of discomfort. Losing this power that he worked so hard to usurp was a blow harder than any god or alien could deliver.

Watching Luthor writhe and lament was immensely satisfying for Superman and Wonder Woman. This chaotic process lit up the early morning sky with its dazzling display of power. They were still sore and dazed, but they had since picked themselves up. They still kept their distance. Luthor was still plenty dangerous in the Annihilator Armor and Erebus remained uncontained, but both were considerably less dangerous once separated.

“You might be smarter than everyone, Luthor, but it takes more than intellect to control power,” said Wonder Woman.

“It’s easy for anyone to abuse power – be they man, god, or alien,” added Superman. “You’ve always been too willing to abuse it. But even when you think you’re not, you lack one important skill that always ensures you’ll fail at wielding such power – humility.”

Their words further added to his pain. By now, the Annihilator Armor had returned to its original size. Erebus had completely left him and was now trapped within the Gate of Eos. In the absence of the generators, he also lost the power that Ares once wielded over his armies. It left him vulnerable and weak, so much so that he dropped the Dagger of Deimos that he had been holding and fell to his knees. Such weakness humbled him in ways that made the extent of his failure even worse.

“I cannot…fail,” said Luthor distantly as he gazed up at the Gate of Eos.

“It’s too late for that, Luthor,” said Wonder Woman as she and Superman approached. “You thought you could handle the power of the gods. We just proved you wrong.”

“But…how?” he wondered, his brilliant mind still struggling to process everything.

“Your downfall was set up before we even passed through the gate,” said Superman. “I saw it with my super vision. You were so caught up in channeling this power that you didn’t realize that someone was already behind the scenes, sabotaging these generators that you so desperately needed.”

“I already suspected that the energy Ares used to control his armies wasn’t natural. He had to have help from the mortal realm and your very presence was the most telling clue,” said Wonder Woman. “You willingly losing to me in our first battle was a close second though.”

“We didn’t need to overpower you. We didn’t even need to outsmart you. We just needed to keep you distracted until a couple of very good friends of ours pulled through,” Superman continued. “That’s where the humility comes in. I never assume I’m too powerful. I never tell myself I’m anything more than a man because that’s what allows me to effectively use my power.”

“And see what others cannot or will not allow themselves to see,” added Wonder Woman.

“Your desire to one-up the gods and embrace this power blinded you to what was going behind your back. You let your selfish desire to subdue me, Wonder Woman, and the gods you despise keep you from using the power you stole. Now you have to accept that no matter how brilliant or cunning you think you are, you’re still human.”

Their words effectively solidified the defeat of Lex Luthor. There would be no new order. There would be no vindication. Looking up at the Gates of Eos, Luthor saw that Erebus had been lost to him. And when he looked down at the discarded Dagger of Deimos, which was now charred black from all the power it had channeled, he realized he could not get that power back.

It was the worst kind of defeat in that Superman and Wonder Woman didn’t overpower him. They just outwitted him. He didn’t allow himself to even contemplate that somebody could sabotage his generators. He had been too eager to declare himself victories over the aliens and false gods he despised. Now here he was, defeated and humiliated, and he had only himself to blame.

Now without Erebus or the energy from the generators, he was just a man again. For an intellect like his, it was an insult that simply could not stand. He finally looked up and turned his attention back towards Superman and Wonder Woman, who were now standing before him. He might have been denied ultimate triumph, but he hadn’t forgotten that he still wielded the power of the Annihilator Armor.

“No!” Lex exclaimed. “I am _still_ superior. I’ll prove it over your dead bodies!”

Once again blinded by hatred, he rose back to his feet and clenched his fists, still feeling plenty of strength within this enchanted armor. He locked his gaze on Superman and Wonder Woman. They clearly weren’t at full strength after the beating he gave them earlier. This might be his best opportunity to finish them off. If he couldn’t usurp the power of false gods, then he would accept their defeat as consolation.

“You ready to prove him wrong again?” said Superman.

“Of course,” said Wonder Woman, already in a defensive stance.

“I’m assuming you’re just as sore as me so just know we don’t have an elaborate strategy this time. The only way we’re going to beat him this time is head on.”

“Wouldn’t have it any other way,” said the proud Amazon with a determined grin.

Luthor let out an angry roar and launched his attack, charging them both and attempting to strike them with the full power of the hulking armor. Superman evaded while Wonder Woman blocked and countered, hitting Luthor with a punishing uppercut. This did little to slow down Luthor. He just launched another attack, forcing Superman to counter this time with a flying punch. It still didn’t slow Luthor down. The armor remained intact and he charged them again, forcing them both on the defensive.

“No more godly powers! No more tricks! This only stops when both of you are dead!” shouted Luthor.

His voice echoed with bloodlust that rivaled the God of War himself, but Wonder Woman wasn’t going to back down from this fight. She didn’t care that part of her uniform got torn from the last attack. She didn’t even care she had some bruises along her face and arm. She was going to take Lex Luthor down and complete his defeat. Superman, who was just as disheveled, stood beside her every step of the way. He might not be a warrior, but he would fight as hard as necessary alongside his lover. They began this battle together. They were going to end it together.

* * *

**Tomb of Erebus**

The chaos that unfolded around the ruins of Erebus’ tomb hadn’t been seen since the great war with the Titans. The balance of forces had been utterly distorted. The collective efforts of Ares and Lex Luthor undermined the very integrity of their realms. The release of Erebus and the opening of the Gate of Eos created a massive storm that quickly spread like an infection. It darkened the skies, casting a deathly shadow over everything in its path. Even the malevolent creatures and undead soldier that once embodied this chaos felt it, making them even stronger and more menacing.

All this chaos created a battle unlike any other. The ruins of the tomb were now the epicenter from which death and destruction would spread. The glowing Gate of Eos acted like a beacon that drew in the bulk of the massive army that Ares and Lex Luthor controlled. They sought only death and destruction, the power released by Erebus imbuing them with unending bloodlust. They all converged around the tomb. Countless armies of undead warriors, harpies, cyclopses, minotaur, and creates that couldn’t even be identified overran every gate and barrier in their path. It left the Amazons and the Sons of Lectura surrounded, outnumbered, and with no escape. But in being true to the warriors they were, they fought on.

“Fight on, sister! Do not relent!” commanded Hippolyta.

“For glory! For honor! For Sparta!” proclaimed King Agesilaus III.

Their battle cries were just one of many, but they all drew from the same fighting spirit. They had no intention of backing down. They also had no guarantee that Superman and Wonder Woman would triumph on their end. And even if they did, it might not be in time. It still didn’t matter. They were either going to triumph or meet a warrior’s death.

At the beginning of the battle, the two tribes formed a large battle line in front of the gates. The Sons of Leuctra formed a phalanx and the Amazons supplemented them at the flanks. Some stayed behind to act as archers and take care of flying creatures. Some Amazons even hitched a ride on the Pegasus-drawn chariots that the Sons of Leuctra brought with them, adding some extra firepower from above. With their collective power, they were able to stop the initial onslaught. But as the battle progressed, the tide turned against them.

As more and more of these creatures poured in, they pushed harder against their battle lines. Eventually, the Spartans and the Amazons had to fall back towards the ruins of the tomb. In the process, they formed a large circular line to help cover their flanks. It effectively boxed them in, but it put them in a position to defend every angle of attack. They made sure every creature that wanted to get through suffered for every inch. Blood, bone, and metal collided in an endless onslaught. It was like the creatures were trying to bury them, but the two warrior tribes had no intention of letting them.

The Amazons and the Sons of Leuctra fought as hard as any mortal or immortal could possibly fight. But as the battle progressed, they began taking casualties. It started in the skies with the Pegasus-drawn chariots. Massive clouds of flying beasts swarmed and battered them, eventually forcing most of them to crash to the ground. Some even purposefully crashed them into massive crowds of monsters in a kamikaze-style attack, doing whatever they could to beat back the onslaught. When their air forces dwindled, the casualties began to mount. That led to the battle lines getting increasingly fragile and closer. Even as they attempted to retreat farther, there was still no end in sight to the onslaught.

“They just keep coming. My sisters are falling!” cried Hippolyta as she ripped the wings off a harpy. “How much longer must we hold out?”

“As long as we must!” said King Agesilaus III as he decapitated an undead soldier with his sword. “Have faith in Superman and your daughter. They will find a way.”

“And if they don’t?” she questioned.

“If righting the many wrongs that have caused this chaos means dying a warrior’s death, so be it!”

The Spartan King’s words resonated with more than just Hippolyta’s own warrior spirit. As she found herself punching and kicking her way through more undead soldiers, she recalled how many wrong decisions had led to this moment.

She lied to her daughter. She lied to her fellow sisters. She even lied to herself to uphold centuries of traditions that cast every man in the same light. Yet here she was, battling alongside male warriors in this chaos that all these lies had wrought. So many wrong acts created this war and so few had been willing to confront them. Her daughter had been the only one among her sisters willing to do the right thing. The least she could do as a mother was return the favor, even if it meant facing death.

_‘Diana…I don’t know if my prayers will reach you or even if the gods even hear my prayers anymore. But if there is any power to my faith, I hope you’ll how much I love you. I love you so much that I was willing to lie to you to protect you. I never trusted you to protect yourself.’_

As a minotaur attempted to stampede past her and a nearby Spartan phalanx, Hippolyta grabbed nearby sword that had been discarded by an undead soldier and jumped up to attack the beast head on. It relentlessly fought back, hissing and snarling with feral rage. As she struggled to defeat it, her memories of all the love she gave to her daughter came rushing back.

_‘The lies end today. Even if I am to fall in battle, I will gladly fall knowing I finally trusted you as I should have. The gods might abandon and betray us, but I will never betray you, my daughter. I will keep fighting for you as you have fought for me.’_

Hippolyta channeled an immortal lifetime of warrior instincts to overpower the minotaur, slitting its throat and wrestling it to the ground. Now covered in blood, she ripped the sword out and joined her sisters and the Sons of Leuctra in another attack. More beasts kept coming. Their lines kept getting pushed back. But that only made her and everyone around her fight harder.

The scale and extent of the battle kept escalating. More beasts fell. More Amazons and Spartans fell. They were running out of time and room to retreat. It promises to be a slaughter unlike any other. The only one who could admire it was the only one not participating in this battle was the weakened and wounded God of War. Ares, still lying in defeat near the base of the ruined tomb, watched this carnage unfold before his eyes. As the chaos closed in on him, the God of War resigned himself to this new fate.

“How fitting – the God of War consumed by a war he did not seek to create,” mused Ares. “I sought to destroy Olympus and impose my new order. I only succeeded in part, but maybe this is exactly what fate has decreed. Chaos _is_ the new order. For mortal and god alike, this is our destiny. We cannot escape it. We can only embrace it.”

It wouldn’t be much longer now. The battle lines shrank to the point where the Amazons and Spartans weren’t too far from the base of the ruined tomb. Ares could actually feel trails of blood flowing from the battlefield and onto his position. The Amazons and the Sons of Leuctra just kept on fighting, delaying the inevitable. Like these brave warriors, he intended to meet his end with honor.

The Amazons and the Sons of Leuctra were poised to take their final stand against the next wave of creatures. Hippolyta and King Agesilaus III, now covered in blood and with more than their share of bruises, prepared to lead their fellow warriors into what could be their last battle. But before the charging horde of creatures could reach them, a deafening round of thunder erupted from the Gate of Eos overhead.

It was so powerful that it caused every creature on the battlefield to stop cold in their tracks. The unfettered chaos that Ares and Lex Luthor had been channeling underwent a dramatic shift. Every creature of chaos felt it and every warrior could now see it. The expanding darkness that had been spreading in all directions stopped, but did not reverse itself. The swirling gateway that had been powered by the release of Erebus warped, becoming more unstable. In the process, the massive beam of energy that had been shooting up through the gate faded. Then, the energy that once made up the beam turned into brilliant flashes of lighting that streaked through the sky. While it stopped the attacking hordes, it threatened to overwhelm them with a new kind of chaos.

“The Gate of Eos…what’s happening to it?” wondered Aleka.

“I don’t know. But I have a feeling Diana is responsible,” said Hippolyta, smiling to herself.

“I fail to see why that’s a good thing,” replied the imposing Amazon.

“It isn’t. We’re _way_ past that point by now,” said Ares distantly.

Hippolyta and King Agesilaus III turned their attention to the wounded God of War. Frustrated at the many crimes this god had committed, the Spartan King grabbed Ares by the throat and held him up.

“Talk, fallen god! How much more damage will your treachery bring us?” spat King Agesilaus III.

“No more than necessary,” said Ares with a sneer. “You should consider yourself lucky – albeit not by much. Lex Luthor has failed. He somehow managed to disrupt the flow of energy prematurely. Now the power of Erebus is flowing back into our realm.”

“Tell us what that means so we can slit your throat to silence you for good!” demanded the Spartan.

“Do what you want. It won’t change our fate. Erebus will still destroy us all. Without me or Luthor controlling its power, his chaos and darkness will reign supreme. That is our ultimate fate. It always has been.”

He actually sounded amused by this, as though it didn’t bother him in the slightest. King Agesilaus III was tempted to snap his neck just to wipe that look of his face. Hippolyta came in and stopped him. She and the rest of her fellow warriors remained fixated on the activity above, sensing that killing Ares at this point would solve nothing.

“Don’t bother. He might actually enjoy it,” she told him.

“He might be lying. It wouldn’t be the first time,” said the Spartan King, keeping his sword to Ares’ neck.

“I don’t think he is this time. Just look at the gate. Look at the creatures. They clearly feel it. All this chaos – unbound and without direction – it has been so disturbed that it even contain itself.”

“So how do we stop it?” wondered King Agesilaus III.

“I don’t know if it’s even possible,” said Hippolyta distantly.

A growing sense of dread came over the Amazons and the Sons of Leuctra. Through the Gate of Eos, they could see Erebus taking on a massive humanoid form. This form reached through with a giant hand, angrily thrashing around at the sky and letting out restless cries. These cries caused every creature surrounding the ruins of the tomb to retreat, letting out cries of terror along the way. But the two warrior tribes remained behind, still prepared for battle. However, this was one battle they knew they couldn’t win.

“You can’t stop it! Nobody can!” said Ares strongly. “Don’t you see? This is the end. You could’ve served me. You could’ve fallen in battle honorably. But instead, we’re all going to perish – warrior, beast, god, and mortal – we all fall the same!”

“No, my son. Nobody else shall fall today,” said a booming voice.

Ares expression shifted completely upon hearing that voice. He recognized it instantly and so did the Amazons and the Sons of Leuctra. They finally turned away from the spectacle unfolding in the skies above and turned towards the fallen God of War just in time to see Zeus appear in a flash of lightning.

“Lord Zeus,” gasped Aleka as she and the Amazons instinctively laid down their weapons.

“All hail Lord Zeus!” chanted some of the Spartans, who did the same.

The presence of the King of Olympus completely changed the ambience of this dire and bloodied battlefield. For the two warrior tribes, he was still the King of the Gods. He was also among those betrayed by Ares. The look of sheer terror on Ares’ face hinted that all might not be lost.

“Father, I…” stammered the God of War.

“Not another word, Ares! You’ve said and done enough,” said Zeus angrily.

He added to Ares’ discomfort, firing off a stream of lightning bolts from his eyes that struck the God of War while he was still in King Agesilaus III’s grasp. The Spartan King gladly let him go and watched him fall limply to the blood-stained ground. Already wounded from the Dagger of Deimos, he now writhed in pain in a way unbefitting of a god. It was a satisfying sight for anyone not affected by his deceit.

“That was too satisfying for words,” said King Agesilaus III with a grin.

“It’s still not nearly as much as he deserves,” said Hippolyta.

“And were the circumstances at all more favorable, I would exact the justice he has earned,” said Zeus. “However, I cannot concern myself with punishments at this point. There’s a far more pressing matter to tend to.”

The King of Olympus turned his attention towards the sky where Erebus was still clawing his way through the gate, ready to unleash his chaos upon this realm once more.

Zeus remembered being in this very predicament centuries ago. The chaos wrought by Erebus would’ve ensured that both the gods and the titans lost the great war. Containing that chaos was the only way to ensure their survival. But this time, doing so would require more than just great power. Even gods, at times, needed to trust in something greater.

“What are we to do, Lord Zeus?” asked Hippolyta, doing her best to hide her anxiousness in the presence of this god.

“You and your sisters need not do anything. You’ve done more than enough,” said Zeus distantly. “The same goes for you, King Agesilaus. Enough blood has been spilled today. We need not sacrifice anymore.”

This caught Hippolyta and many of the Amazons and Spartans off-guard. Any aid from Zeus usually required sacrifice of some kind. He almost sounded like a different kind of god now.

“As we speak, Hera and Hessia are freeing the other gods. They are retaking Olympus from my son’s forces. But even their collective might cannot destroy Erebus. Might alone can never destroy the chaos that Erebus embodies. To contain this chaos and preserve the realms of mortal and god requires something greater…something that I’ve never been willing to give.”

The skies above grew increasingly restless. Erebus was uncomfortably close to unleashing his wrath. For a brief moment, Zeus turned away and looked back at the warriors that still bowed to him. He was used to being worshiped, but he forgot the merit behind it. Many of these warriors knew of his exploits and his shortcomings, but worshipped him anyways. Knowing what had to be done to save these noble souls, Zeus had to make one thing clear.

“Please…do not bow before me. Not today. Not after I failed to stop this madness,” said Zeus. “Like so many others – some of which I myself have condemned – I let my power and my pride blind me. I wouldn’t allow myself to see the truth, nor would I allow myself to realize what needed to be done. I could not bring myself to understand what so many mortals have figured out on their own without the guidance of gods. But I understand now and for once, I’m going to use my power for the right reason.”

Many of the Amazons and Spartans rose up, confused by Zeus’ words and their subtext. He did not speak to them as a god or a king. It wasn’t even clear that he was addressing anyone at this point. He was just saying what needed to be said so someone would know the context of his actions.

It drew the unmitigated scorn of Ares, still too weak to attack his father in any way. But for Hippolyta, it evoked a different kind of emotion. This was a man and a god who had a long history of doing as he pleased and imposing his will. Now he was talking about doing what was right instead of doing what was necessary. It both intrigued and worried her.

“You…coward,” said Ares in a weak tone.

“Don’t listen to him,” said Hippolyta. “I know what you’re going through. It’s not pleasant…accepting the mistakes you’ve made and the chances you missed.”

“It’s ironic, isn’t it? You might be the only one among mortals and gods who understands, Hippolyta,” said Zeus, still not taking his eyes off the Gate of Eos.

“I also understand what it is you must give. Just know that you still have our prayers and we’re willing to…”

Zeus raised his hand to silence her. He didn’t need another reason to do this. He had asked enough of those who worshipped him. He needed to make sure this was done on his own terms.

“I do not need your prayers or your sacrifices,” said Zeus. “This is something every mortal and god must learn– the value of sacrifice when power and might fail. I’ve waited too long to learn that lesson, but I will see to it that no more shall suffer for my failures.”

The King of the Gods then turned to face Hippolyta again. She and King Agesilaus III remained respectful and willing of their god. Even after so many mistakes and loss, they still had faith in them. It was time he returned the favor.

“I only have one simple request of you, Hippolyta,” he said. “Promise me that once this is done, you’ll find our daughter. She’s still fighting as we speak. She’s going to succeed, as she so often does. She’ll need her mother’s love.”

“Of course, Lord Zeus. It will be done,” she replied without hesitation.

The King of the Gods smiled, trusting that Hippolyta would keep her word. He then turned his attention back to the Gate of Eos above where his fate would be determined.

By now, Erebus’ massive form was halfway through the gate. His arms turned to countless tendrils that spread across the sky, creating more unfettered chaos that threatened to overrun this realm. The Amazons and the Sons of Leuctra were still ready to fight, but Zeus made sure they wouldn’t have to. With all their anxious eyes watching him, he proceeded to make his sacrifice.

Surrounding himself in a shell of lightning, the King of the Gods ascended into the sky like a shooting star. Along the way, massive bolts of his lightning streaked across the sky, clashing with the dark tendrils of Erebus. Their respective powers pushed back against one another, creating a perfect storm of sorts that further destabilized the Gate of Eos. It caused Erebus a great deal of discomfort, causing him to unleash more angry shrieks that echoed in all directions. But Zeus did not relent, pushing the power of a god to limits it had never gone before.

He eventually reached the very face of Erebus. Zeus could tell that he recognized him. He had been the one that entombed Erebus before. Now he had to do it again, but this time containing him would come at a price. And for once, this was a price he was willing to pay.

“You’ve been corrupted, tainted, and manipulated, Erebus. I know you’re in pain, but I’m here to tend it!” he yelled. “This time, I will not battle you. This time…I will sacrifice.”

Erebus let out more angry shrieks, thrashing erratically as Zeus continued to release wave after wave of lightning to contain his darkness. As he pushed himself, his whole body became surrounded in a bright blue aura of energy. That aura became so bright that it gave off a radiance that rivaled the sun. It effectively blinded Erebus and stopped his encroachment through the Gate of Eos. His face began to contort erratically, his shadowy form being overpowered.

As the energy escalated, the dark clouds that descended over the runs of the tomb began to reverse course. Now flashing with Zeus’ lightening, these clouds were drawn back into Erebus until they were completely contained within the Gate of Eos. By now, this energy Zeus unleashed became so great that he could feel his body burning. The strength and power that made him the King of the Gods burst out from him like dam bursting at the seams. It burned him every bit as badly as it burned Erebus. But he willingly endured the pain, knowing he had a promise to keep to Hera and his daughter.

“I may not…be powerful enough…to defeat you…by sheer force of will,” grunted Zeus, his booming voice echoing over Erebus’ cries, “But the power of will…can never be greater…than the power of sacrifice.”

Erebus made one last attempt to overpower Zeus, but failed. As more power erupted from the King of the Gods, the entirety of Erebus was finally contained within the Gate of Eos. A massive cloud of bluish lightning now surrounded it, guided by the will and desire of Zeus. Under this immense power, Erebus’ shadowy form shrank until it was the size of a large black cloud. This cloud then began to swirl like dust caught in the wind, becoming more and more concentrated until it formed a cone-like shape. Once fully trapped within this wind, Zeus made the final sacrifice.

He let out a determined grunt that echoed throughout Tartarus. His body shrank, almost disappearing within the blinding halo of bluish light. In doing so, the energy that had engulfed the Gate of Eos redirected Erebus back down to the ruins of the tomb below. When it hit, it released a shockwave that caused the Amazons and the Sons of Leuctra to shield their eyes and fall back. Once the shockwave passed, they all gasped as they watched the Tomb of Erebus rebuild itself before their eyes.

Piece-by-piece, the massive structure that Ares unlocked emerged. But this time, it was even bigger and more robust than before. As it formed, the shadowy form of Erebus was drawn into it. There was little resistance. This primordial embodiment of darkness and could finally be secured once more. Once the last of Erebus’ form entered the tomb, another massive seal formed at the peak. This time, the seal was larger and more secure than before. Zeus even made sure it took on the shape of Diana’s breast plate, a fitting testament to the daughter that inspired him and so many others.

“The tomb – it is restored,” said King Agesilaus III. “Does this mean the battle is over?”

“I believe so,” said Hippolyta, still watching the spectacle unfold before her.

“But what of Zeus?” he asked.

The Queen of the Amazons didn’t bother answering, letting Zeus’ actions speak for themselves. Once the Tomb of Erebus was sealed, the remaining aura of lightning that once surrounded Zeus’ body began to fade. This also shrank the Gate of Eos until it was effectively closed. Once this dazzling display of energy ceased, a withered and weakened body reappeared and plummeted from the sky. Taking it upon herself to finish this fateful act, Hippolyta rushed over towards the base of the tomb and caught the body in her arms.

“Hnn…so tired,” said Zeus in a weak voice.

“Shh…you can rest now,” she told him. “It’s over now. You did the right thing and it worked.”

Her warm voice evoked a proud smile. Zeus, the mighty King of the Gods, had been reduced in stature to that of a sickly man of skin and bone. He was so emaciated that he had only a faint trace of life in him. But within Hippolyta’s protective arms, he never felt stronger.

It was a jarring yet fitting sight, seeing the King of the Gods so weakened. But Zeus knew the cost of his actions. He knew he would make himself vulnerable and weak. That’s what made it so honorable. It was an act Hippolyta herself should’ve done much sooner with her daughter. As she watched him close his eyes and slip into a deep sleep, she made a promise to herself and to the father of her daughter that she intended to keep.

“I’ll make things right with my daughter and my sisters again. You have my word,” she told him.

A strange sense of calm fell over the area. It finally allowed the Amazons and the Sons of Leuctra to stop fighting and process the battle they just fought. Having lost so much and made so many mistakes, there was so much to contemplate. As King Agesilaus III caught up with her, Hippolyta was ready to take the first vital step.

“Here. Take him back to Olympus,” said Hippolyta, carefully handed off Zeus’ weakened form to the Spartan King. “Have your men and my sisters tend to the wounded and the dead.”

“It will be done, Queen Hippolyta,” said King Agesilaus III assertively. “What about you?”

“I’ve got a promise to keep,” she said strongly. “I’m going to confront my daughter and the man she loves.”

* * *

**New Mexico – Helion Solar Test Range**

“I’LL KILL YOU! I’LL KILL YOU BOTH!”

Lex Luthor’s angry voice reverberated in every direction. Still wielding the power of the Annihilator Armor, he attacked Superman and Wonder Woman, drawing on every bit of anger and hatred he could muster. With his plan now in ruin and the test range devastated, there was nothing left for him. He would only be satisfied once his hated enemies fell.

“How much longer can he keep going?” said an increasingly fatigued Superman.

“Does it matter?” said Wonder Woman, breathing heavily after countering another attack.

“Not in the slightest.”

Superman and Wonder Woman still stood together, launching an attack of their own against the enraged Lex Luthor. By this point, the Gate of Eos had closed. Every Cerberus Generator had been destroyed. It was just them in Luthor, battling for survival.

The battle quickly descended to that of a brawl where every attack and counterattack just added to their wounds, becoming a struggle of sheer will over strength. It followed a devastating pattern. Luthor would attack one of them, forcing them on the defensive. He might have gotten in a few lucky blows, but he always left himself vulnerable for another counterattack. Then Superman and Wonder Woman would go on the offensive, using their remaining strength to beat and batter the Annihilator Armor to the point where they unleashed shockwaves and echoes that caused more cracks to form in the ground. While the armor remained intact, Luthor felt plenty of discomfort. They all endured the pain and the wounds, fighting as long as their will would allow.

However, Superman and Wonder Woman were getting to the point where their willpower was exceeding their bodies’ ability to take the punishment. Between all the battles they had fought earlier and the battle they found themselves in now, the battle scars had really piled up. Superman’s uniform accumulated a fair amount of tears, so much so that a good chunk of his cape was missing. Wonder Woman’s uniform became quite worn as well, exposing more cuts and bruises. By now, they were both spitting up blood and blocking out pain. But they kept on fighting, coordinating on another collective attack that knocked Luthor flat on his back again.

“Do the everyone and the gods a favor, Luthor. Stay down!” demanded Wonder Woman, still breathing heavily.

“The gate is closed. Your plan is finished. It’s over!” said Superman, wiping the blood off his lip.

“Over? Ha! You two are wearing down and I’m still in one piece,” laughed Luthor, clearly hiding his own discomfort. “I don’t care if we tear this desert another grand canyon. I won’t stop until both of you are dead!”

His determined hatred assured them he meant every word he said, but Superman and Wonder Woman stood ready to match him every step of the way. Despite their growing fatigue, they watched Luthor return to his feet and prepared for another attack. The Annihilator Armor was dented and damaged, but was still going strong and showed no signs of letting up.

While Wonder Woman clenched her fists and prepared to attack, Superman wondered how much longer they could keep doing this. He and Wonder Woman had the strength and the resolve, but their bodies couldn’t keep up at this rate. He still had no intention of backing down. Then he remembered something Ares told him earlier.

“Don’t fight him,” he found himself repeating.

“Hope you’re not getting tired on me yet, Kal. I’m not done with this sniveling beast of a man!” said Wonder Woman, ready to attack before Luthor could regain his composure.

“Wait! I think…this is not the way to defeat him,” said Superman.

“What do you mean? He’s still standing and so are we!”

“Exactly! Luthor and that armor are still in one piece. No matter how much we fight it – it just keeps going. Maybe that’s what’s fueling it. Us fighting it keeps it going.”

“So what are you suggesting? That we not fight it? That we just stand here and let him beat us?”

It went against every inclination Wonder Woman had as an Amazon and a warrior. Her enemy wasn’t vanquished and neither was she. The idea of not fighting back seemed outrageous, but Superman looked dead serious.

He had a feeling she wouldn’t embrace the idea immediately. He didn’t attempt to hold her back. He just looked at her with the same caring gaze he showed on the first day they met. Knowing that Luthor was about ready to attack again, they needed to do this together.

“Do you trust me?” Superman asked her.

“Of course,” said Wonder Woman without hesitation.

“Then let’s do this. Let’s win this fight by not fighting.”

It still didn’t make sense, but this man had done more than enough to earn her trust and her heart. Looking back towards Lex Luthor, who was still seething with hatred, she saw that what they were doing clearly wasn’t working. They needed a new approach. In the same way she had to change the way she saw man’s world, she had to change her approach to winning a battle. Looking back towards her lover, she smiled and nodded in a show of strength, ready to endure this with him.

“Fight by not fighting,” she repeated in an effort to make it sound less ridiculous. “I guess it’s worth a shot.”

Wonder Woman and Superman unclenched their fists and relaxed their stance. All they could do now was brace themselves as Lex Luthor launched yet another attack.

“Time to end this!” he yelled.

Letting out another angry battle cry, Luthor charged them at full speed. This time, they didn’t counter. They let him reach them and hit them with two devastating punches that send them flying back towards one of the still-intact hangers. It hurt, sending an unwelcome shot of pain through their already weakened bodies. But they absorbed it, resisting the natural instinct to fight back. Superman was going to take a chance and trust what Ares told him, hoping that the God of War was just as eager to defeat Luthor.

While still pinned against the hanger, Luthor came in for another attack. He grabbed them both by the neck and with seething intent, he repeatedly slammed their heads against the brick and metal. He slammed them so hard that he created a gaping hole in the structure. Once it became too bit, he pushed them back up against it and began punching them both repeatedly in the torso.

“I…will…beat you…to a…bloody…pulp!” Luthor grunted within the armor in between each punch.

More pain followed. More wounds formed, so much so that Superman and Wonder Woman began coughing up blood. But they didn’t say a word and didn’t raise a hand. They just let Luthor vent his hatred. It hurt, but at one point they were able to look towards one another and exchange a look of strength. It helped them further endure the pain, trusting that they would both be strong enough to get through this.

For Luthor, it was invigorating, being able to pummel these two pestilent beings that had ruined his plans. This time he didn’t need any genius or cunning. He just needed his hatred and his desire to prove himself stronger. Feeling their bodies under his fists felt so satisfying, so much so that he didn’t stop to wonder why they had ceased fighting back. He no longer cared at this point. He just wanted to see them fall by his hand.

But as he kept punching them, the Annihilator Armor began to react strangely. The exotic metal that made it so durable began to warp more than it had at any point since Lex Luthor’s spirit entered it. The distinct luster that made it so strong began to rust, as though centuries of wear and tear from countless battles accumulated all at once. It made every one of Luthor’s attacks weaker and less forceful. It eventually got to a point where they were so weak that Superman and Wonder Woman barely felt them.

“It’s working!” said Wonder Woman, grinning despite her pain. “He hits like an _infant_ now.”

“And a very whiny, immature infant at that,” added Superman, taunting Luthor in an effort to keep him unfocused.

“I’ll show you weak!” Luthor shouted.

Their efforts worked perfectly. In another fruitless outburst, Luthor grabbed them by the neck again and threw them back across the test range so that they landed right in front of the now inactive Gate of Eos. When they landed, they didn’t even get up. He then rushed over towards them, moving noticeably slower than before. This still didn’t stop him.

When he reached their battered and bruised bodies, he focused on Superman. He grabbed him by the neck, staring at him with all the hatred and outrage he had built up since their first encounter. He didn’t care how weak he was becoming. He still had enough strength to end the Man of Steel.

“No more games! No more elaborate plans! Now you die, Superman,” seethed Luthor. “I failed to defeat an army of false gods, but I can still defeat _you_!”

He attempted to snap his neck to finish him off once and for all. However, Luthor discovered he no longer had the strength. He squeezed as hard as the Annihilator Armor would allow him, but it wasn’t enough. In fact, it was nowhere close to being enough. It felt like he was squeezing a slab of granite. Superman, despite being plenty battered, didn’t look the least bit uncomfortable. He just kept grinning back at him, still not fighting.

“Well, what are you waiting for?” he asked. “Don’t tell me you wore yourself out.”

“I…will…end you!” grunted Luthor as he continued to struggle.

“All I see ending is this overblown tantrum of yours. Is this really how you want to use that genius of yours? Outsmarting gods and battling aliens?”

“You…are an _abomination_. You…and all these false gods…will be the end of us all,” said Lex, the armor now starting to crack.

“Lie to yourself all you want. Make all the excuses you need. You’ll never understand. You’ll only end up making the same mistakes and people like me will be there to stop you.”

“I will not…fail.”

“Sorry Lex, but you just did,” said Superman, his grin widening as a familiar shadow fell over them.

Lex didn’t even get a chance turn around until he felt a distinct crack in the torso of the Annihilator Armor. The image of his face in the head tensed, turning from hatred to dread. When he looked down, his dread was confirmed. Now sticking out of the torso of the armor was the Dagger of Deimos. It was in almost the exact same area that he had attacked earlier with Ares. But this time, Wonder Woman delivered the unexpected blow, effectively ending the battle and sealing his fate.

“No. Not again!” he groaned.

“Men like you – be they god or mortal – truly never learn,” said Wonder Woman, now sharing Superman’s satisfied grin.

Once again, Lex’s determined hatred blinded him to the point where he overlooked one important detail. As he stood over Superman, still attempting to snap his neck, he forgot about Wonder Woman. Despite being every bit as battered as Superman, she was still conscious and able to retrieve the Dagger of Deimos that he had dropped earlier. He might as well have invited her to use it by focusing so intently on killing Superman. Now he had once again fallen at the hands of these inferior minds.

The dagger effectively delivered a mortal blow to the armor. Now lodged in the torso, a web of cracks formed and spread rapidly. The once unstoppable Annihilator Armor became brittle and fragile. Every last bit of strength it contained disappeared, causing him to release Superman from his grip and fall limply to the ground. Wonder Woman then let go of the dagger, falling right next to him and letting fate take care of the rest.

For a moment, the Annihilator Armor stood frozen in place. The cracks from the dagger spread to the point where it couldn’t even move. It looked ready to crumble at any moment. The area around the head started to glow, the remaining energy within flickering like a candle that was about to be snuffed out. The image of Luthor’s head began to fade. But instead of anger, he seemed to accept his fate.

“Until next time, Superman,” said Lex.

“Not if we have anything to say about it,” said Superman. “Unlike you, I’m not afraid to trust others to help me.”

“Which means we’ll be that much stronger,” said Wonder Woman, “And you’ll never match that strength.”

This time, Lex Luthor didn’t get a chance to respond. The Annihilator Armor finally fell apart, shattering like glass and collapsing unceremoniously into a pile of scrap metal. There was only a faint flare or purplish energy that escaped. The exact fate of Luthor’s presence was unknown, but Superman and Wonder Woman assumed he was still in one piece. None of that mattered now. They had won the day.

With the early morning sun now fully risen, the test range finally fell silent. It was a welcome, surreal moment. Superman and Wonder Woman fought so hard and endured so much. Now here they were, so battered and sore they couldn’t even stand. But they still had enough strength to reach out to one another. They couldn’t reach very far, the pain they endured preventing them from doing so. Superman was only able to grasp his lover’s hand and Wonder Woman only had enough strength to give it a light squeeze, but that was more than enough.

“We did it,” said Wonder Woman breathlessly.

“Yeah…we did,” said Superman.

“Together,” she added.

“Yeah…together,” he affirmed. “You…trusted me.”

“You…earned it. You…endured all this…for me.”

“You did too. If I knew Lex Luthor would get involved, I…”

But he didn’t have the strength to contemplate all the ways this crisis had gone wrong. All the struggles he endured and the punishment that went with it came rushing back to him. Superman had never been this sore before. Then again, he never went up against gods or Lex Luthor in a god-powered suit of armor before. As much as it hurt, he had no regrets. Looking at Diana, a woman who changed his life forever on that fateful day they met in their youth, made every part of the struggle worth it.

“I love you, Diana,” Superman found himself saying before the soreness got too severe.

“Of course you do,” she said with a smile. “I love you too.”

“There’s still…so much I want to tell you.”

“Me too,” said Wonder Woman. “But with everything that’s happened, I just don’t know where we would…”

Her words trailed off. The two lovers were on the brink of passing out, the pain of so much fighting finally setting in. This was hardly the right place to rest. At some point, the authorities would show up. They were sure to have many questions, none of which they had the strength the answer. But they didn’t have the strength to fly away either. Even in triumph, they seemed doomed to new complications.

But as they lay battered, a small portal formed in front of them. Before Wonder Woman’s warrior instincts kicked in, she looked up to see her mother emerge from it and smile. A part of her was still concerned, having not forgotten about the lies that had been exposed about her conception or her ongoing relationship with a man. However, a caring smile from her mother helped set her concerns at ease.

“Rest easy, my daughter. It’s over now,” said Hippolyta as she knelt down to tend to her daughter and her lover. “Now it’s my turn to aid you in your time of need. And this time, I’m going to do right for you and your lover. I promise.”

* * *

**Up next: Remorse and Reconciliation**


	20. Remorse and Reconciliation

**Strangers In Paradise**   
**Chapter 20: Remorse and Reconciliation**

* * *

**Themyscira – Temple of Asclepius**

_“The wounded always carry a far greater burden than the dead, but they also achieve a far greater glory.”_

This was part of the prayer that every Amazon recited before going into battle. Every great warrior fought with the understanding that pain, suffering, and death would follow from combat. However, great warriors also understood that there was much to be gained from surviving. It was a harder path, but one that was incredibly fulfilling.

The memories of all the times Diana had said this prayer flashed before her as she finally emerged from her unconscious state. When she opened her eyes, she awoke to a pounding headache and an all-encompassing soreness. The Amazon princess had incurred plenty of injuries over the many battles she fought, but none hurt quite like this. Her vision remained blurred and her whole body felt like it had the weight of a mountain on it. Just trying to raise her arm proved difficult. However, this pain only reminded her of what she fought so hard to achieve and why it had been so worth it.

“Mother…sisters…Kal,” she said in a weak tone.

Hearing no response, Diana battled her injuries to rise up from her wounded state. In doing so, her vision cleared and she recognized where she was. She was lying in a special bed within the Temple of Asclepius, the God of Medicine. This was where wounded Amazons would go to recover from wounds incurred in battle. Most treatments involved mystical enchantments or special potions. Given the durability of the Amazons, it took quite a bit to keep them here for very long. Diana had no intention of being the exception.

As soon as she gathered herself, she slipped out of the bed. Her body made her regret that immediately. She felt a wave of soreness and pain shoot through her. Diana toughed it out and attempted to stand. In doing so, she realized that she was naked and her now-tattered battle attire lay on a table next to her bed. Seeing it laid out so neatly assured her that her sisters hadn’t treated her with much hostility. She hadn’t forgotten that she was still an exile, but that wasn’t her immediate concern.

Stammering forward, not even bothering to find a toga to cover up, Diana made her way out of the room. She then realized it was late at night, the corridors of the temple now illuminated with candles and torches. Once making her way into the hall, she looked down at the rows of other rooms like hers. One at the end caught her attention.

“Kal,” said Diana, this time with more strength in her voice.

Ignoring more lingering soreness, she made her way down to the room. She could see a steady light coming from the opening, indicating it was occupied. Seeing no others like it, Diana knew her lover had to be there. He endured the same wounds she had. Right now, the best medicine for the both of them was to be near one another. It also wasn’t lost on her that he was a man on Themyscira. At some point, they would have to address this and many other complications.

_‘Picking up the pieces from a battle is often harder than the battle itself. My mother taught me that after my first day of training when I complained of a sore knee. She also told me that those who don’t learn from the aftermath of battles never fully recover. I’m hoping she learned something from all this. I certainly have with Kal. But at some point, we need to do more than learn.’_

Diana reached the room and, much to her relief, she saw Kal lying in a bed similar to hers. He wasn’t in chains. He wasn’t being guarded. He was just resting and recovering like her. And also like her, his clothes had been removed and laid out on a nearby table. Just seeing him put a smile on her face, but seeing no traces of her sisters’ hostility gave her even greater hope.

_‘They tended to him. They treated him just as they treated me. Hera herself must have commanded it. I like to think my sisters recognized his exploits from this battle, but some things just can’t be learned quickly.’_

Assured that she didn’t have to worry about her sisters for the time being, Diana made her way over to the bed and slipped under the sheets with him. The second she felt his warm body next to hers, more of the soreness faded. She eagerly curled up to his arm and gazed up at his manly complexion. Looking at him, she recalled the scale and scope of the battle they just fought together.

This man was once just some stranger who washed up on the shores of Themyscira, lost and alone. They had been young, impressionable, and inexperienced. Then, as time passed and fate brought them together, they forged a bond. That bond had now grown in a profound way. Kal-El wasn’t just her lover. He was something so much more.

_‘There’s only so much a warrior can learn in the course of battle. To fight and to struggle against overwhelming odds – it need not be constrained to a battlefield. Sometimes the greatest battles happen within our own hearts. We fight to understand and embrace our passions for all the right reasons. It’s hard to be sure what they mean. But when the dust settles and the battle ends, we can truly appreciate its power.’_

The bond she had with this man and the warmth of being in his presence gave Diana the kind of healing that rivaled Asclepius himself. As she clung to his arm, she began tracing her hand around his chest. This man evoked so many passions in her. He changed her life in so many ways. More changes were inevitable, some of which they would have to face as soon as they were fully healed. But she didn’t let herself worry about that at the moment. She just focused on the beautiful man lying next to her.

Diana’s warmth and gentle touching helped rouse Kal from his unconsciousness as well. Like her, he was very sore. It showed in the way his breathing remained and his body remained still. When he opened his eyes, he smiled. He didn’t mind in the slightest he was in an unfamiliar place on an island full of women who once wanted to kill him. He recognized her touch immediately and that was enough to set his concerns at ease.

“Hey,” said Clark with as much strength as he could in his sore state.

“Hey yourself,” said Diana as she smiled back. “How are you feeling?”

“Like I just fought a god and a crazy man who thinks he’s better than a god,” he answered. “I can honestly say I’ve never been this sore.”

“Coming from Superman, that’s no easy feat.”

“What about you? How are you feeling?”

“As sore as you, I imagine. But not sore enough to keep me from my lover’s are,” she said warmly.

“Yet too sore to put on some clothes?” Clark teased.

“Is that a complaint?”

“Not in the slightest.”

Diana curled up closer, allowing more of her healing touch to sooth his battered form. Clark eagerly accepted her intimate embrace, slipping his arm around her waist and holding in his loving grasp. Her head now resting on his chest, her hand eventually found his and their fingers became entwined. The feeling of their naked bodies entwined provided more healing than any spell or potion. In the same way they supported one another in the heat of battle, they soothed one another in moments of tender peace.

It marked the end of an arduous, emotional journey that began when Clark first found out how alone he was in the universe. He spent a good chunk of his life believing he would always feel alone and isolated. Being Superman and Clark Kent, he thought he couldn’t and shouldn’t get emotionally involved with anyone because it would put them and others in danger. Then he met Diana, this wonderful woman who proved him wrong.

Holding her in his arms, feeling all the love and strength in her touch, Clark Kent let go of any lingering doubts. He loved this woman. He loved her with all his heart. He may have been from a different world, but the connection they forged was profound. From the moment he first laid eyes on her on the shores of Themyscira to this moment with them in bed together, it grew and blossomed in ways they had never imagined. Now it had gotten to a point where they could embrace it fully.

“So…where do we go from here?” asked Clark distantly.

“Are you referring to us? Or are you referring to the more complicated matters involving my mother?” said Diana.

“Can it be both? I think we’ll have to answer them at some point.”

“We will. But some will be easier than others,” she sighed.

Diana tried to avoid contemplating these questions, but she couldn’t ignore them for long. What happened here would have significant consequences and not just for them. Her life, her home, and the gods she and her sisters worshiped would never be the same.

“Our most immediate concern is stability,” said Diana. “My mother’s authority as queen is _tenuous_ to say the least. The revelations about her affair with Zeus and the lies she told about my birth have been troubling to say the least.”

“I can only imagine, but I have a pretty good idea. I know better than most what it’s like to learn uncomfortable secrets about your birth,” said Clark in a sympathetic tone.

“I know you do. And I’m still trying to process that. But what worries me more is what this means for my home and my sisters. My mother – the dense and stubborn woman she is at heart – will always find a way to be stronger than everyone around her. She won’t shy away from the consequences of her actions. She will stand before her sisters and subject herself to judgment.”

“You’re worried about how they’ll judge her,” he surmised.

“I’m more worried about what this means for the Amazon sisterhood. Their trust has been broken. Their faith in her and the gods has been shaken. I want to believe that the bonds of sisterhood will keep us together, but…”

Diana had to stop herself. She didn’t dare contemplate her sisters and her family coming apart as a result of these revelations. She also didn’t doubt that changes would have to be made.

“Those bonds will need to be healed. My mother and the gods won’t let the Amazons tear themselves apart,” said Diana confidently. “They might allow her to keep her title as queen, but with reduced authority. They might install an interim queen until a proper succession can be organized. Or they might remove the title of queen altogether from Amazon order and craft a different chain of command altogether.”

“Sounds like you’re not sure about any of those,” said Clark.

“I still have faith that the gods and my sisters will find a way. I know that must sound ridiculous after everything we just experienced.”

“Not as much as you think,” he said, offering an affectionate gesture. “We can never lose faith, especially after experiences like this.”

“Then I guess all our spirits will be tested. I know my mother will face consequences for what she’s done. I know I will face consequences for what I’ve done. And, suffice to say, you’ll have to face them as well.”

“And I’m fully willing to do so, but I can’t help but ask – should I be worried?” he asked with a touch of anxiety.

“Not as much as you think you do, that I can promise you. The mere fact you’re not in a dungeon bound by chains is a promising sign.”

“I noticed that too, but didn’t want to assume too much.”

“You don’t have to. I think you made enough of an impression on the gods and my sisters.”

Diana gave him a light kiss on the cheek to further alleviate his concerns. She wouldn’t make any promises about what her sisters and the gods would do, but she chose to have faith that they would do the right thing. They all experienced first-hand what happened when they chose hatred over compassion. After they came so terribly close to losing everything they held dear, Diana believed that the Amazons and the gods were ready for a different kind of order.

“Your actions have spoken volumes, Kal. You showed the Amazons and the gods just how good a man could be in the face of hardship,” she said in a more serious tone.

“But was it enough?” Clark wondered.

“It damn well better be. I won’t let them ignore it, that you can be sure of,” she said strongly, “But beyond your actions, you stood for something that all great warriors respect – something I know will keep my sisters and my mother from judging you too harshly.”

“And what might that be?”

“Heart,” she answered, placing her hand over his chest to emphasize her point. “It’s what separates warriors from beasts. It informs us when to show mercy and compassion. It strengthens us when the rigors of combat strain us. It’s a trait that my sisters once thought men were incapable of feelings. But you demonstrated it before their eyes. You and the Sons of Leuctra proved beyond any doubt or dogma that a man can have that same heart that all Amazons cherish. That assures me that their judgment will be fair and your feats will bring a long-overdue change to this island.”

She saw his actions in such a profound light. Clark only ever saw himself as doing the right thing as Superman, hoping to inspire people with his deeds. The idea that he could inspire the Amazons to finally move beyond their traditions made his triumph over Ares and Lex Luthor all the more fulfilling.

But as important as it was to inspire the Amazons, he still had a more pressing concern on his mind. He was ready to face Diana’s mother and whatever judgment he and the Olympians made for him. However, his ability to confront what lay ahead rested heavily on what the future now held for him and Diana.

“I’m willing to take your word for it. But what about the second part of my question? The one that involves us?” asked Clark.

“That…is actually a much easier question to answer,” said Diana, her hand now resting atop his. “In the same way your actions spoke volumes to my sisters, they said just as much to me.”

“And what did they tell you?” he asked.

“It depends. What did you expect them to convey? I made it clear from the beginning that I was asking a lot of you. And I could tell you were reluctant to get involved with Amazon conflicts again. You might have even had second thoughts at some point.”

“Would you hold it against me if I did?”

“That would be redundant at this point,” said Diana, giving him a playful swat. “Just tell me what you were hoping to prove by fighting this battle with me.”

“You mean other than just to show how much I love you?” said Clark.

“That, you never needed to show. I already know how much you love me. Go beyond love for a moment. What does the battle we just fought mean to you…to us?”

She now turned the question around on him, forcing Clark to think about their struggles from a different perspective. For once, this wasn’t just about doing the right thing. It wasn’t even about helping his girlfriend, even going beyond being Superman.

Looking at Diana and feeling her in his arms, Clark saw the struggle they endured together in a longer context. He had to help fight her battles with her sisters and the gods. She had to help fight his battles with Lex Luthor. In doing so, they added complications to their struggles that they had never dealt with before. It made achieving the victory they sought all the more arduous. At the same time, however, it made the end result more fulfilling. This made the answer to this very important question incredibly clear.

“Well if I put it in the simplest possible terms, I’d probably miss a lot of important details,” he began.

“Then don’t worry about the details. Just say what needs to be said,” said Diana.

“In that case, I think I wanted to prove to you – and to myself for that matter – that we _can_ fight these kinds of battles. I’m not just talking about battles against gods or men like Lex Luthor who think they’re gods either. One of the hardest things about being with someone is still being able to fight your own battles while sharing the struggles of others. It makes us confused and vulnerable because we sometimes have a hard time telling them apart. Sometimes the line between our struggles and those of others gets really obscure.”

“To be fair, I had no idea Lex Luthor would get involved with the gods,” said Diana. “I never meant for it to get _that_ complicated.”

“Luthor always finds a way to cross those lines. I’ve come to expect that from him,” he sighed. “What we did in facing him showed that we could navigate those lines. We could stand against men like him and gods like Ares. We can even hold our own against them. I can be the Superman I need to be. You can be the Wonder Woman you need to be. But in the end – even with all the strength we have on our own – we’re so much stronger together.”

Diana looked back up at him, her head still resting on his chest. He smiled back at her and tenderly caressed the side of her face. There was so much love in his touch, but there was also plenty of strength. That helped further prove his point. It also helped reinforce what she already knew.

“Then I think you already know what this means for us,” said Diana.

“I still don’t like to assume too much,” teased Clark.

“Then make an exception, if only this once. You fought alongside me as a warrior. I fought alongside you as a hero. We _can_ share each other’s world. We _can_ trust one another to hold our own. Since we first came together, we spent so much time and energy trying to reconcile the past with the present. Now – after everything we’ve shared and everything we’ve gained – we’re ready to start building towards a future.”

It was a daunting idea, but one that held so much promise. Had he and Diana not just endured so much hardship together, it would’ve been overwhelming. Instead, it felt all too fitting. They had already done so much to affect each other’s lives. That fateful encounter in their youth led them to make many difficult choices later in life. Now, having come together as a result of those choices, the path before them was much clearer.

Making that path all the more appealing, Diana playfully crawled on top of him so that the full weight of her naked body pressed against his. Her gentle hands remained on his chest while his now rested on her waist. Gazing in awe into the eyes of this woman he had fallen so madly in love with, Clark saw his future looking back at him.

“A future…together,” he said with a smile, “You make it sound so wonderful.”

“Do you want to talk more about it? Or do you want to kiss me and start laying the foundation?” said Diana in a deep, loving tone.

This time, the choice was clear. Clark captured her lips with his. Simple, heartfelt passions took over. They were once outcasts in their respective worlds. Then, he and Diana came together and forged a special bond. That bond survived a battle against gods, deception, and madmen like Lex Luthor. Now that bond held the key to a new future. And whatever new challenges they faced, Clark and Diana were ready to face it together.

* * *

**Olympus – Graves of the Fallen**

“Every great warrior goes into battle ready to die, but those that survive aren’t always ready to live.”

Hippolyta said these words knowing that none would respond to console her. The dead rarely offered such consolation, leaving the living to find it on their own. It wasn’t supposed to be difficult for those who died nobly. In Amazon tradition, a warrior that fell in battle was celebrated for having given her life in service to her sisters and the gods. However, in light of recent events, such tradition offered little comfort.

More Amazons fell in the battle against Ares and the mortal, Lex Luthor, than any since their defeat at the hands of Hercules. Many more were wounded and left to heal with the knowledge that they had been used, deceived, and manipulated by the gods they once worshipped. It was a loss that left deep scars within their sisterhood. These scars made clear that the traditions that sustained the Amazons for centuries were no longer sufficient. These traditions had almost been their undoing and Hippolyta bore much of the responsibility for letting it get to this point.

This burden led the Amazon Queen to the Graves of the Fallen, a special cemetery built near the base of Mount Olympus by the goddess, Athena. This was where every warrior who fell in battle was laid to rest. Many of her sisters had been buried here over the centuries. The aftermath of this latest battle required several rows of graves to be dug, which had just been completed. This was where the bodies of her fallen sisters would be laid to rest. Standing over these solemn monuments, Hippolyta bowed her head in sorrow.

“I’m so sorry, my sisters,” she said, tears forming in her eyes. “You gave your hearts, your souls, and your lives to our sisterhood. I wish I could’ve given you more.”

Again, she got only silence in response. In many ways, the fallen were the lucky ones. They wouldn’t be present to experience the upheavals that were sure to follow. They could rest peacefully in the Fields of Elysium. This left the living to pick up the pieces from her mistakes and those of the gods.

To their credit, the gods did their part to honor the dead. Upon driving out Ares’ forces, they re-established a temporary order over the realm. Hades himself blessed those who fell in battle, assuring them save passage into the afterlife. Athena also took it upon herself to retrieve the bodies of the fallen and prepare them for burial. She and the gods scheduled a ceremony to acknowledge their sacrifice. It was to act as the definitive end to this conflict and usher in a new beginning. However, this beginning would be harder on some more than others.

“I’ll pray for you. We all will,” said Hippolyta to the graves that would soon be filled, “But no amount of praying can change the truth. I failed you. I failed you as a sister and I failed you as a queen.”

“No Hippolyta. You didn’t,” said a familiar voice.

Hippolyta didn’t bother turning around or even raising her head. She had sensed King Agesilaus III’s presence before he even spoke. She had a feeling he would visit this grave at some point. He bore many of the same burdens, but shared only a fraction of her sorrow.

“I take it you’re here for the same reason as I am, King Agesilaus,” said Hippolyta.

“This is where I should be right now. It’s where I _need_ to be,” he said, now standing next to her and looking over the row of graves. “Like your sisters, many of my brothers fell in battle. And as their king, the burden of their loss falls upon my shoulders.”

“If only that was the extent of my burden,” she sighed.

The Spartan King did not attempt to comfort her. She didn’t attempt to comfort him either. They both understood as leaders that they needed to bear this burden alone. At the same time, however, his presence offered another perspective for Hippolyta.

She hadn’t forgotten that her Amazons fought and died alongside men in this battle. These brave men that King Agesilaus III loved as much as she loved her sisters carried themselves as true warriors. As such, they would be buried alongside Amazons in this graveyard. It left her and many other Amazons conflicted, fighting and dying alongside men. Those same conflicts promised to fuel many changes and upheavals moving forward.

“Tell me, Agesilaus – from one ruler to another – how can anyone be regal when their darkest secrets are exposed in the worst possible way? Is it even possible?” wondered Hippolyta, tears still filling her eyes.

“I cannot say,” he replied. “Secrets are often a by-product of wielding power. The gods themselves are proof of that.”

“Even when these secrets are kept out of love?” she questioned. “Everything I did – all the lies I told my sisters and my daughter – I did it because of love. I knew if they found out I had lain with a man and bore his child, they would resent me. That says nothing of the wrath Hera would’ve unleashed if she knew that man had been her husband.”

“A secret kept out of love is still a secret. It doesn’t make it any less painful when it’s exposed.”

“Then what am I to do? How can I face my sisters?” Hippolyta lamented. “They may never see me as their queen again. They may not even see me as their sister.”

“If the love of sisterhood is every bit as strong as the love of brotherhood, then I can be certain that such fears are unfounded.”

“Even if they are, it doesn’t undo the damage I did – not just with my secrets, but with my hubris as well. I upheld every facet of Amazon traditions for centuries, never giving them a second thought. But after what happened with my daughter, I had an opportunity to reconsider. I could’ve at least _tried_ to look beyond our hatred of men. Maybe that would’ve prepared us for Ares’ treachery. Maybe it would’ve…”

Hippolyta stopped herself, the strain becoming too great. She wiped the tears from her eyes and sighed, doing her best to remain strong in the face of such failure. She couldn’t even contemplate a scenario where her sisters would forgive her sins and accept her as their queen again. Perhaps this was the fate she had forged for herself.

It was just as hard for King Agesilaus III. Hippolyta’s sorrow made him contemplate his own failures as well. At some point, he would also have to confront his brothers and determine the course of their future. But that future didn’t have to be defined by the losses they suffered.

“Fate is often cruel and unfeeling. At the same time, it exacts a cold brand of justice that even gods cannot escape,” said King Agesilaus III distantly as he looked over the rows of graves.

“Even if it is fitting, it hardly feels just,” muttered Hippolyta.

“Therein lies its power,” the Spartan King continued. “Centuries ago, I prayed to Ares to aid me and my brothers in our darkest hour. While I foolishly trusted that renegade god, my brothers trusted in me. I promised them so much – glory and victory that would preserve our way of life for eternity. I believed, in my own hubris, that I could deliver on those promises.”

“Except you didn’t know,” she pointed out. “You couldn’t have possibly known that Ares would betray you.”

“On the contrary – I had a very good reason to suspect it,” he said solemnly. “Before I went to Ares, an oracle delivered a message from Athena herself. She said that it was not wise to trust Ares so implicitly. I should’ve listened, but I refused. I didn’t even tell my brothers about it until it was too late.”

Now it was King Agesilaus III’s turn to hold his head low. He still remembered how his men cheered and supported him, swearing to fight for him until their dying breath. He had been so proud and because of that pride, his brothers suffered.

But as much as he despised himself for failing to heed the opportunities he missed, the Spartan King did not intend to succumb to despair. The Sons of Leuctra had already lost so much and so had the Amazons. That didn’t mean they needed to lose anything more.

“In both our cases, we had opportunities that our pride did not allow us to take,” King Agesilaus III went on, “But that doesn’t mean we can’t make use of the opportunities before us.”

“I question the extent of those opportunities at this point,” said Hippolyta skeptically.

“Then dare yourself to question a little more,” said the Spartan King. “Our tribes may be wounded, but we are still intact. Both the Amazons and the Sons of Leuctra have homes to rebuild. Whether my brothers trust me enough to be their king or your sisters trust you enough to be their queen does not matter. That shouldn’t stop us from standing before them and leading them down a new path – a better path.”

“That’s just it. I’m not even sure I know what a better path would be at this point. The Amazons have known only one path for so long.”

“Yet by standing here with me, talking to me as a man and not a beast, you’re already walking a different path,” he pointed out. “Sometimes we don’t realize how clear that path truly is. My men and I saw a glimpse of it when Superman rescued us. Perhaps someone else has shown you that path as well. You just have to allow yourself to see it.”

The mention of the man called Superman shook Hippolyta from her dazed state. She hadn’t forgotten that this was the same man who once washed up on the shores of Themyscira and captured the heart of her daughter. That thought used to outrage her. Now, as she turned to look at the man standing next to her, she saw it in a different context.

In being so distraught about her own mistakes, Hippolyta barely noticed that she had been talking to a man. Moreover, past traditions of hatred had not obscured the conversation. It might have been just been due to her sorrow, but the idea that she could carry on a meaningful dialog with a man astonished her. King Agesilaus III did not carry himself like Hercules. He didn’t even carry himself like Superman. He and his fellow Spartans were warriors, just like Amazons. That was something even the most stubborn Amazon had to respect on some levels.

At the same time, seeing this man reminded her of the conflict that drove her and Diana apart. Before she encountered this man, her daughter dared to have faith in mankind. Once again, that faith had been vindicated. And while she couldn’t imagine her sisters being easily swayed, she could no longer deny what was now so plainly obvious.

“I guess I am still blinded by old traditions. If only I had my daughter’s strength to do the right thing when it mattered,” said Hippolyta.

“If only we all had that strength,” sighed King Agesilaus III.

“Even so – I want to be strong enough this time. I want my Amazons to see beyond past dogma. That’s the only way we can be the warriors we strive to be.”

“And if you wish, the Sons of Leuctra can help. We fought alongside one another in battle. I think that should establish a certain level of trust.”

“It does. Just don’t expect it to be much,” said the Amazon Queen. “My sisters still bear many scars from Hercules. The Amazons are going to struggle with change, but I have faith that their hearts will win out over their dogma. And if your men are willing to share that faith, then I would be honored walk this path together.”

The Spartan King finally tore himself from the solemn sight of the graves and faced the Amazon Queen next to him. Despite all her regrets, she had so much hope in her heart. Hope, in the face of everything he and his brothers had lost, felt like such a fleeting concept. This woman, who had already shown such resilience in battle, revealed a strong spirit that any man would admire. Knowing his men would need such spirit, he smiled and bowed respectfully.

Hippolyta smiled back. It was the first time she had smiled at a man in centuries. It felt strange and a little disconcerting, but she still embraced the feeling. Knowing she had an ally in this struggle, even if it was a man, helped strengthen her faith. Together, they looked back out on the graves of the fallen with a greater sense of hope.

“I suppose we’ll both start walking that path soon enough. Every journey is easier with allies by your side,” said King Agesilaus III.

“Indeed,” said Hippolyta. “It also helps if the gods are on the same page. I imagine they will have to walk a different path as well.”

“Should that be cause for concern?” wondered the Spartan King.

“After recent events, I think a little healthy skepticism is warranted. But I still have faith that the gods will also learn from this ordeal. There’s sure to be plenty of bitterness, but I believe love will win out in the end.”

* * *

**Mount Olympus – Chamber of the Divine**

There were times when the gods envied the mortals that worshipped them. Mortality, as fragile as it might be, carried with it fewer burdens than those of the gods. Mortal lives were finite, limited, and smaller in scope. Their struggles, no matter how great they might have been, had a definitive endpoint. That’s what made their achievements so much more impressive. It also made the work of the gods so much more difficult.

Immortality brought more than its share of complications to Olympus. Zeus learned shortly after the great war with the titans that being a god often meant being restrictive in creating a stable order. Despite his great power, exercising it to the necessary scale proved strenuous to say the least. He and his brothers managed to create a strong foundation on Olympus that endured for centuries. But one of the great drawbacks of immortality was that, given enough time, even the strongest foundations succumbed to the ravages of time.

The world of gods and mortals had changed a great deal since the days mortals worshipped them. While the mortals adapted to this world, the gods failed to do so. Despite Zeus’ best efforts, chaos and mismanagement that foundation. His restrictive rule created the conditions that Ares and Apollo exploited. While he managed to prevent their actions from utterly destroying the foundation he created, it came at a price.

“So tired…so weak,” said the King of the Gods in a raspy voice. “If only my father, Cronus, could see me now.”

“He would probably be amused, but still envious,” said Hera in a bemused but serious tone.

The extent of the price he paid to contain Erebus was still setting in. After expending so much power to form the tomb, Zeus was still weak and emaciated, bearing a very slim and lanky physique. At least now he was resting comfortably in the Chamber of the Divine.

This special domain, which he built in a heavily fortified area just below his throne room, was forged with remnants of the primordial energies that healed their world in wake of the great war. In the center of the chamber was a large bed surrounded in a greenish field of energy. It acted as a cocoon, allowing those within it to be nourished by these healing forces. He had not used it since the aftermath of the war with the titans. He often resisted doing so because in order to heal effectively, he had to go into a deep sleep. It left him and Olympus uncomfortably vulnerable, but he could not avoid it this time.

He didn’t know how long that process would take. This was a very precarious time for Olympus and his fellow gods. Ironically enough, his best hope at preserving Olympus in his absence would come from his wife, who was among the very few who could access this chamber. Despite having suffered so much under his harsh order, she was still willing to do what was best for their fellow gods and the mortals.

“I’m going to be brutally honest with you, husband. I know I may never get another chance like this so I’m going to use it,” said Hera. “I was tempted to let you wither. After what you did to contain Erebus, it would’ve been the easiest way for me to escape your grasp. And make no mistake, I really wanted to.”

“Yet here you are by my side – like an honorable wife and a noble woman,” Zeus pointed out.

“Don’t let it go to your head. Hades and Poseidon would’ve been just as tempted if they weren’t also weakened from their imprisonment. But I decided not to exercise my jealous impulses for once. I chose a harder, more arduous fate – one where I have to swallow my pride and do what’s right instead of what’s most satisfying.”

“It’s not an easy choice to make. Believe me, I know.”

“Of course you know. I saw you make it and so did everyone else in Tartarus. You making such a noble, selfless choice made it next to impossible for me to be as vindictive as I want to be. You sacrificed so much, helping to make amends for your mistakes and mine. Because like it or not, we were both guilty in allowing Ares and Apollo to exploit us. They took advantage of my jealousy and your arrogance. Were it not for the insufferably noble efforts of Diana and the Superman, we all would’ve perished.”

“A most unfitting fate indeed,” said Zeus. “They were the only ones to never waver from doing the right thing.”

“And that’s a long-overdue lesson that we must learn,” said Hera, “Because if we don’t, then we’ll succumb to the same fate.”

The Queen of Olympus tried in vain not to sound too bitter. She still didn’t like the idea of being this merciful to Zeus, who had such a long history of not showing mercy to anyone, especially his own wife. Their marriage was still a loveless business arrangement. However, there was still something to gain from that arrangement. As Hera stood over the bed, taking in the sight of her weak and vulnerable husband, she recalled how previous passions had affected her choices. Now, she had a chance to choose a new path and none of the gods had the luxury of being as reckless as before.

“We’ve all been served an uncomfortable dose of humility, but I’m trying to set an example for the other gods,” Hera continued. “Aside from choosing to help you, I took it upon myself to subdue Ares and Apollo. I also tried to locate Persephone, who they said aided them. But she remains unaccounted for.”

“I hope you were appropriately _thorough_ ,” said Zeus.

“I like to think I was as fair as I needed to be. We’ll continue to look for Persephone, but we’ve plenty to deal with in those two. I had to resist the urge to send them to the deepest pit of the Underworld that Hades could reserve. For now, they’re going to languish in the Oblivion Prison until the other gods can agree on a fitting punishment.”

“I would opt for something exceedingly painful, but I know what that has brought us in the past so I hope you and our brethren take that into account.”

“We will. Believe me, we don’t want to be slaves to the previous order. We want to build something better for Olympus. And since I’m still your wife, this means I am now acting regent of Olympus. I wield full authority in your absence.”

“You say that in a tone that reassures me in some ways, but concerns me in others.”

“It reflects honest sentiment. Given all your lies and infidelities, you should be concerned because I’m now in a position to make you regret these illicit acts. But rest assured, I’ve no intention of using this authority so crudely. That would only send us down the same path and neither of us wants that.”

Zeus remained plenty concerned. There was little affection or sympathy in Hera’s tone. He didn’t expect much, even after the sacrifice he made to save their realm. One sacrifice hardly made up for all the ways he hurt and humiliated her. He expected Hera to find some way to seek justice for his many illicit affairs, but he also had faith that she wouldn’t succumb to old habits.

Looking down at his vulnerable form, it was still so tempting. Hera managed to restrain herself. This was so much bigger than the petty grievances of the past. She and the other gods had to focus to the future.

“For now, the damage done by Ares has given us a brief calm within Tartarus. This gives us an opportunity to reform the order that was nearly destroyed,” said Hera. “I intend to use this opportunity to establish a more effective order for Olympus. The way in which we confront chaos and govern the forces within our realm must change. And I’m going to make those changes, even though I’m certain that plenty will resist it every step of the way.”

“That desire makes you all the more worthy of wielding power in my absence,” said Zeus.

“Which, fittingly enough, makes it the most appropriate form of justice against your many failings as a king and a husband,” she said in a more bemused tone. “The way I see it – by wielding this authority better than you, I prove that I’m not just your equal. I’m _better_.”

Hera now loomed over the bed and looked her husband right in the eye. Her feelings were still mixed, but it was hard to ignore the centuries of scorn and bitterness that she endured under his reign. No amount of anger or jealous could do to negate his crimes. However, she could channel a different set of emotions to exact a more appropriate kind of vengeance on her husband.

“Imagine, if you can, the feeling you’ll have when you wake up from your slumber and find that Olympus is far stronger than it ever us under your rule,” she said to him. “There is order, peace, and justice from here to the Underworld. The chaos that you couldn’t contain is now as subdued as it will ever be.”

She made it sound so appealing, but she was undeniably smug about it. She made clear that she believed she could achieve this and she didn’t stop there.

“Then imagine – although I doubt you can – that all this was achieved without your brute strength and unflinching authority. Instead, the gods actually give reason and compassion a chance because I gave them a chance. Can your ego handle that, Zeus? Would you be willing to concede – as uncomfortable it might be – that my order ends up being more effective than yours?”

“It depends. How much would my answer truly matter to you?” asked Zeus, still trying to speak with some level of authority despite his weakness.

“More than either of us is comfortable admitting,” Hera replied. “We both have egos. That much I know we can agree on. But ego aside, you’ve always claimed that everything you do – as dishonest and unjust it might be – you do for the good of Olympus.”

“And I stand by that claim,” he said.

“Then you already know the answer to my question. And you’ll end up having to admit it when I shove it in your face after you wake up. That admission – that I was able to craft a better order than you – will be the best possible justice I could exact on you for your crimes. If preserving Olympus is that important to you, then you’ll accept this excessive and overdue dose of humility. If not – well, then you’ll just reveal how unfit you were to begin with.”

The way she presented it, she won either way. Either he vindicated her with his ego or she vindicated herself with her ability. It almost came off as devious, but the end result was the same. Olympus would be stronger. Order would be preserved. Zeus couldn’t deny that his arrogance and lies nearly destroyed everything the gods had built. It forced upon him more humility than he had ever experienced before. It was only fitting that more would be required to rebuild and strengthen Olympus.

“If that is what it will take to create a stronger, better order…so be it,” said Zeus.

“Then go ahead and rest, knowing that I have so much incentive to do as I say I will,” said Hera.

“Incentives or not – and despite all the reasons you have to hate me – I still have faith in you, Hera.”

“And you still have some annoyingly noble qualities that I cannot stop admiring,” she admitted. “But this isn’t about us anymore. This isn’t even just about Olympus. Ares and Apollo may have exposed the weaknesses in our power, but Diana and Superman revealed that there is far greater power in compassion and justice.”

“A power we’ve both lost sight of over the centuries, no less,” said Zeus in an increasingly drowsy voice.

“And a power we had best not negate again,” said Hera. “I know there is little value in promises, but regardless of what happens between us or Olympus – this is the kind of order we must strive to create. Without it, we’ll all succumb to a fate far worse than chaos.”

For once, Hera and Zeus found something they could agree on. They needed whatever order that came from the ashes of this conflict to be better. It was no longer enough to just be gods. They had to stand for something greater than themselves. For mortals, that was easy. For gods, it was more of a challenge, but one they had to overcome.

“I guess we’ll both see what fate has in store for us soon enough,” said Zeus, finally closing his eyes and preparing for some long, overdue rest.

“Speak for yourself,” said Hera, knowing she had a long road ahead of her.

“If at all possible…before I fall into a deep sleep…give Diana a message for me. Tell her…I’m sorry for the lies that I upheld. And let her I am eternally thankful…to have such a strong, compassionate daughter.”

With this final request, Zeus succumbed to his weakness and slipped into a deep sleep. He didn’t give Hera a chance to reject, ignore, or criticize his request. He just blindly trusted her to deliver this message to yet another one of his illegitimate offspring. It would’ve been pathetic if Hera weren’t so motivated. He probably anticipated that. Even at his weakest, Zeus still found a way to frustrate her.

“You annoyingly clever man,” sighed Hera. “You just have to make being better than you so difficult.”

The Queen of the Gods shook her head as she lingered over her husband’s bed. Once asleep, the glowing green energy surrounding him became more solid, forming a shell that would insulate him as he healed. There was no telling how long he would remain in this state. However long it ended up being, Hera had every intention of making good use of that time.

After making certain that the chamber was secure, Hera left and locked the entrance behind her. She was now officially the ruler of Olympus. She had a lot of challenges before her and the first involved deciding the future of Themyscira.

* * *

**Themyscira – Outside The Temple of Asclepius**

After a full day of rest and recuperation, Diana emerged from the Temple Ascelpius fully healed. She stepped out into the morning sun wearing her Wonder Woman attire, which had been cleaned and repaired. She had an eventful day ahead of her. Her future and that of Themyscira would be determined. It was daunting, the idea of the Amazons deciding a new fate after having clung to old traditions for so many years. However, she chose to approach this day with a sense of hope.

Many new challenges lay before them. There was plenty of rebuilding to do. From the base of the temple, Diana could see the extent of the destruction that Lex Luthor left in his wake when he attacked the island in the Annihilator Armor. Homes, farms, and temples lay in ruin. This said nothing about the sisters that fell in battle. And beyond the physical destruction, the entire makeup of the Amazon order was in question.

The lies her mother told about her birth did significant damage. As much as her sisters loved her, their trust in her had been shaken. But Diana had faith that her mother would not be judged too harshly. She also had faith that her sisters would not let the shackles of old dogma tear them apart. The love she and her sisters championed was too strong. She was ready to stand by her mother and her lover to face whatever fate was decided. In the same way she stood strong in battle, she was ready to stand strong for peace.

“You’re looking much better, Princess. Glad to see exile hasn’t made you soft,” said the harsh yet familiar voice of Aleka.

Diana turned to see her imposing sister standing near the entrance of the temple, casually leaning back against the wall. Aleka was among those Diana knew would be more stubborn than most, but she had no intention of avoiding her scrutiny.

“Thank you, Aleka. It’s good to see that recent events have not dampened your personality,” said Diana.

“I also get the sense that exile has made you even less likely to apologize for past misdeeds.”

“I think it’s safe to say we’re all burned out on the burdens of the past. I’m ready to start looking to the future now and so are our sisters.”

“Don’t you dare talk to me as though everything is all victory and sunshine,” said Aleka in a serious tone. “Yes, we acknowledge the need for change. Yes, we concede that Ares used our hatred and pride against us. And yes, we saw how you and that man of yours fought nobly to save us all. But don’t think for a second that this nullifies your past transgressions.”

Aleka approached her fellow Amazon with a mix of apprehension and conflict. She didn’t allow herself to feel too much hatred. The scars left by the consequences of that hatred were still fresh, but this needed to be said. Diana had to understand her role in the past as well as the future of Themyscira.

Despite Aleka’s demeanor, Diana remained poised at the mention of the circumstances that led them to this point. She had a feeling she would have to confront them. She also had a feeling that Aleka would be especially harsh in addressing up.

“I don’t expect you or anyone to forget about past misdeeds, Aleka,” said Diana. “However, I hope that recent events will cast a new light on those deeds.”

“In all likelihood, it will. It’s hard not to when Hera herself concedes that our dogmatic hatred of men contributed to Ares’ treachery. She says our hatred fueled his control over us, using it to bend our very souls to his whim.”

“You give the impression that you’re not all that eager to let go of that hatred,” she stated.

“Only because that hatred was there for a reason,” said Aleka. “Maybe you’ve forgotten why you were punished in the first place, but I sure haven’t. None of our sisters have forgotten either. Those traditions – as much as you despise them – are a product of a world you chose over your own home.”

“And I still stand by that choice, as difficult as it was,” said Diana.

“That choice still came at a cost. While you embraced man’s world, our world became increasingly vulnerable. You weren’t here when Ares attacked. You weren’t here to stand by us in our hour of greatest need.”

“Even if I had, would it have changed the outcome?” she questioned.

“We can never know for sure,” said Aleka. “The fact remains – you exiled yourself. You turned your back on us so you could vindicate your beliefs about man’s world.”

“And those beliefs were vindicated,” Diana pointed out.

“Even if they were, that doesn’t make what you did any less selfish. And you can’t expect me and the rest of my sisters to forget that. No matter how honorably you fought, you still turned your back on us. So don’t for a minute think that your triumphs make you above reproach.”

Her words came off as harsh, but her tone still came off as conflicted. Diana could tell that Aleka did not completely despise her for her actions. She might have even understood them better now, although she wouldn’t dare admit it. But she said still had a measure of truth. Diana could not assume that her recent heroics completely absolved her. Beyond the purely logistical aspects of her actions, there was a personal element as well that Aleka refused to ignore.

“Now I know you’re going to be _annoyingly_ humble in addressing this. The council has already informed me that you’ve agreed to submit yourself to their judgment,” Aleka continued. “I don’t doubt for a second that you’ll do the right thing as you always have, regardless of who stands in your way.”

“So why does that seem to bother you so much?” asked Diana. “I know you’ve always been critical of me. I never expected that to change, even after this.”

“Or after I found out you’re the illegitimate daughter of Zeus,” she muttered under her breath.

“But that can’t be the only reason why you’re so intent on condemning me for my choices. There has to be more to it. Tell me so we can confront them before we try to move forward.”

“You’re _far_ too understanding. And to be honest, it’s bugging the hell out of me,” said Aleka, having to turn away to avoid her gaze.

Diana still didn’t turn away from her. She just kept looking at her sister with a caring gaze. No matter how harsh Aleka insisted on being with her, she wasn’t going to stop loving her. It added to her frustration, but it made speaking her mind a little bit easier.

“I can no longer deny that man’s world is capable of producing strong, honorable men. Fighting alongside the Sons of Leuctra – watching Superman carry himself so nobly – it makes clinging to old assumptions about man’s world an act of self-delusion,” said Aleka distantly.

“So why must you hang onto some of those assumption?” asked Diana.

“Because that world is still the same world that hurt me and my sisters so much!” said Aleka strongly. “That world that you chose to embrace took my innocence, my honor, and my virginity. Your faith in mankind might take you far, but eventually you will have to confront that horror. And when you do, you’ll understand why these traditions matter so much to the Amazons.”

There was an undeniable passion in the imposing Amazon’s tone. That passion stemmed from the scars that still lingered from the atrocities her sisters suffered at the hands of man all those years ago. These were scars she could not forget or overlook. She made that painfully clear to Diana. Her sisters might be willing to reconsider these traditions in light of recent events, but they could not forget where they came from.

However, Diana did not attempt to argue the merits of these traditions. Instead, she offered her sister a caring gesture, which Aleka didn’t accept at first. Her heart had been hardened by betrayal and deceit. First, her loyalty to Hippolyta had been shaken. Then the very gods she worshipped used her. Aleka was a sister in need and, knowing there were plenty more like her at the moment, Diana was prepared to embrace them during these difficult times.

“Aleka, I don’t claim to know everything there is to know about man’s world, but I feel I’ve seen enough understand its horrors,” said Diana.

“Understanding them isn’t the same as confronting them,” scoffed Aleka.

“I agree. But I don’t have to confront them to see the bigger picture. When it comes to the cruelty that innocents suffer – there’s no escaping it. That, I won’t deny. But a very wise man once said _nobody_ dies a virgin. Life fucks us all.”

“Who said that? Aristotle?” said Aleka with a raised eyebrow.

“No. Kurt Cobain,” said Diana.

“Who in Hades is he?”

“Someone far more insightful than Aristotle will ever be,” she replied. “Men and women alike acknowledge that we live in an imperfect world, plagued by cruelty and injustice. In the same way a single act of atrocity shouldn’t obscure our perceptions, a single act of altruism shouldn’t do the same. That’s why it’s important to take a step back to see the world for what it is.”

“And what if we still see a world too corrupt to embrace?” asked Aleka.

“Then you have to be willing to have faith in the kind of world it can be. That’s why I try to see both – a world that has so much good that’s worth saving and a world that has the potential to be so much more. With men like Superman by my side, I’m willing to fight for that world. What about you, Aleka? What kind of world are you willing to fight for?”

The imposing Amazon could not answer that question. Nobody on Themyscira had ever dared to ask it. She tried to look away again, but could not hide from Diana’s caring glance. She still had in her a youthful spirit that had not yet been tainted by man’s world. A part of her still believed that spirit would be shattered, but Diana had proven just how strong that spirit was, even when her sisters succumbed to the treachery of the gods. As much as Aleka criticized her for not wholly embracing the Amazon way, she proved reliant in ways that few Amazons could match.

Her strength and spirit still shaken, Aleka sighed and shook her head. She still had so many reasons to be angry and bitter, but her heart wouldn’t let her anymore. There had been too much upheaval and too much strain. For once, the imposing Amazon chose not to fight a battle she knew she couldn’t win.

“I’m afraid that’s a question I can’t answer right now,” sighed Aleka.

“That’s okay. It’s a question I’m sure our sisters will struggle with no matter what they decide moving forward,” said Diana with a caring smile.

“I just don’t know what kind of world I’m even a part of anymore. I spent so many years being loyal to your mother. Then, I find out she lied to me. Then, I turn to the gods…only to have them lie to me too. Now here I am, being comforted by a daughter of Zeus – it’s as though fate is conspiring to frustrate me!”

“It may feel like that now, but it’ll make you stronger in the long run. I know you too well, Aleka. You’re too resilient to submit to such strain.”

“Your love and faith in me is as annoying as it is appreciated.”

“I’ll do what I must to help my sisters through this difficult time,” assured Diana.

“Well for both our sake, I hope it’s enough. I want to be stronger. I want our sisters to be stronger. But if that means dealing with the corrupt world of man world and the lies that nearly tore us apart…”

Aleka allowed her words to trail off, but she didn’t need to finish for Diana to get the message. She continued to smile, offering her sister another kind gesture. This time she accepted it. She was still plagued with uncertainty and doubt about the future. Diana shared even shared some of those feelings. However, she still had faith that her sisters would get through this. And if someone like Aleka was willing to take a chance, then Diana was all the more confident that she and her sisters would come out stronger.

“That desire to be stronger is our greatest weapon at the moment,” said Diana as she led Aleka away from the temple, “And if you’re willing to listen, I’d love to nourish that desire with stories of my experiences in man’s world.”

“So long as they don’t involve the intimate details of your experiences with Superman, I’ll at least _pretend_ to listen,” said Aleka reluctantly.

“Don’t worry. I intend to keep those details to myself. There are still plenty of wonderful things about man’s world worth sharing.”

“I’ll be the judge of that,” she said skeptically, “But if at all possible, I’d like to learn more about this man you call Kurt Cobain.”

* * *

**Lexcrop Medical Center – Unknown Location**

“Hnn…damn you, Superman. Damn you, Wonder Woman.”

These groggy, incoherent words reflected the first coherent thoughts Lex Luthor had upon awaking from his coma. He once again found himself in a weak, frail body unbefitting of his genius. He no longer wielded the power of the Annihilator Armor. He was back to being an ordinary human again.

When he opened his eyes, he recognized his surroundings. He was lying in a bed within a secure, windowless room in a special Lexcorp Medical Facility located in Europe. There were no doctors present. He would never trust anyone to care for him when he was in such a vulnerable state. His body had been hooked to an array of machines that he made himself, each designed to keep him strong while his mind was busy. While the machines did what he designed them to do, he didn’t expect to return so quickly. In his frustration, Lex Ripped out some of the IV tubes going into his arm and muttered a string of curses to himself.

As his strength steadily returned to him, Mercy Graves approached his bed carrying a tray of medicine. She had done her part, getting his body out of Greece and transporting it to this facility. She also did her part to sabotage Apollo and Ares at the test range in New Mexico. Everything had been in place for Lex, but he couldn’t see his plan through to the end. It left him sore in ways no medicine could treat.

“Good morning, Mr. Luthor. How are you feeling?” asked Mercy as she presented the tray to him.

“Is that a rhetorical question?” muttered Lex as he shoved it away. “How long have I been out?”

“Since the ordeal at New Mexico unfolded – about a day,” she answered. “For a while I wasn’t sure that your mind would return to your body.”

“You should’ve have wasted your time with needless concern. You of all people know I always have a backup plan. I just wish I didn’t have to keep relying on them.”

Once Lex got enough feeling in his limbs again, he reached under the special hospital gown he was wearing to retrieve a bronze medallion he had around his neck. He made sure to hide it from any mortal or god that might have noticed it while searching for the Annihilator Armor. His tact paid off, although it did little to ease his disappointment.

“This Prometheus Medallion – as Felix Foust called it – did what it was supposed to do. It made sure my mind remained intact in the event the Annihilator Armor failed. It makes me feel a lot less guilty about what I did to Foust to get this,” said Lex as he casually tossed the medallion aside.

“Given the state you left him in, I doubt he cares,” said Mercy.

“It’s the price of doing business,” he sighed. “Speaking of which, how much has Superman and his squeeze cost me this time? Can I expect this latest setback to be cheaper than the Metallo debacle?”

Mercy hesitated to respond, which was never a good sign. In addition to protecting his vulnerable body, she had also been tasked with covering his tracks while he carried out his plan. That should’ve been easy, but Superman had a way of complicating those efforts as well.

“I’m afraid you’ll have to temper your expectations, Mr. Luthor. It appears there were some _complications_ in addition to Superman,” she said.

“What kind of complications?” asked Lex anxiously.

Instead of giving him the answer he hoped, she retrieved a newspaper sitting on a table next to his bed and set it down on his lap. It was the latest edition of the Daily Planet and the headline almost sent Lex Luthor back into his coma.

“It seems your exploits were captured through some unexpected video recordings. Even though I had all the data from the facility destroyed, that didn’t stop Lois Lane and her boyfriend from playing the part of the paparazzi,” said Mercy.

“So that means…” said Lex, choosing not to say it out loud in an effort to spare himself further indignation.

“Yes. It means your entire battle with Superman and Wonder Woman was captured on video – as was your rather _disconcerting_ remarks,” said Mercy. “I’ve been on the phone with lawyers, investors, and authority figures all day. I’ll spare you the details, but I will say it’s going to be considerably more difficult moving forward.”

Lex clutched the paper and sneered. Nearly the entire front page was dominated by an image of him in the Annihilator Armor. It had been taken from a distance, most likely from a remote camera outside the perimeter of the base. It wasn’t a terribly sharp picture, but it depicted plenty of incriminating details. It documented his exploits for all to see under a headline that read, “Lex Luthor Reveals His True Colors.” Seeing Lois Lane’s name next to the article only affirmed Mercy’s assessment.

In addition to the infuriating implications, the article also answered one of the burning questions he had about this latest failure. Someone had to have tampered with the Cerberus Generators to get them to fail the way they did. Superman might not have been in a position to make that happen, but Lois Lane always seemed to find a way to obstruct his efforts. At times she was even worse than Superman because she brought with her the incessant scrutiny of the media.

With the full extent of his failure now clear to him, he threw the paper across the room in frustration. This wasn’t the kind of bad PR he could just throw money at to make disappear. It promised to undermine his efforts more than ever. He came so close to channeling the power of false gods, but he let it slip through his fingers. Now, he would need more than just his uncanny genius to accomplish his goals.

“Damn the press and their infuriating curiosity!” yelled Lex. “These charlatans are going to completely misconstrue my intentions and hinder my efforts. How do they expect me to exert my rightful place in the world with this kind of scrutiny? Now I’ll have more than just the FBI and Interpol on my ass. My resources will be limited in a way no genius deserves.”

“We still have allies in high places and you still have ways to stay hidden,” Mercy pointed out.

“You think I give a damn about hiding?” he scoffed. “This goes beyond evading people pretending to wield real power. Prison, infamy, disgust – none of this scares me in the slightest. While I was in that armor, I _personified_ real power. For a brief moment, I had the ability to turn my genius into something far greater than any lesser mind could comprehend.”

Lex was getting worked up, so much so that it showed in his erratic vitals on the life-support machines next to his bed. He was still getting used to being weak again and the process of being this insignificant again sickened him.

“For a brief moment, I knew what it felt like to have the power that unenlightened peons attribute to gods,” Lex continued, clenching his fists angrily as he recalled that feeling. “I had to outwit phony gods to get it. I was poised to do more than any god, alien, or mortal ever could. Then Superman and Wonder Woman took it from me. Now the Lois Lanes of the world will keep me from getting it back!”

“I’m not going to pretend I understand what you experienced, Mr. Luthor. I’m also not going to give you the kind of shallow sympathy I know you’ll reject,” said Mercy.

“I appreciate that, Mercy,” he muttered.

“But you actually have more resources than you think – resources that Lois Lane and her media cohorts couldn’t take from you.”

Lex’s frustration gave way to curiosity and he looked at Mercy with a raised eyebrow.

“What are you babbling about?” he asked.

“While I know you always have a contingency plan, I also know you don’t believe in luck either. You prefer to make your own when an opportunity presents itself. Well, I think this certainly qualifies.”

Mercy retrieved a remote control device from her pocket and pointed it at the wall next to his bed, revealing that it wasn’t actually a wall. It was a divider that could be mechanically controlled. This secure room had been cordoned off to keep it isolated and confined. And in activating the mechanism that pulled back the divers, she revealed a second bed that wasn’t surrounded by medical equipment.

On top of this bed sat a woman in a dark cloak. Most of her body was obscured, but the cloak did not hide the uncanny beauty of her face or the well-defined shapes of her body. It also didn’t hide that this woman was in a great deal of distress. She wasn’t shackled or restrained in any way either. She just hugged her shoulders to her knees, staring off into space until she felt Mercy’s eyes on her.

“Is that who I think it is?” asked Lex, his brilliant mind already revising his previous assumptions.

“Persephone, Queen of the Underworld – or former queen as it were,” said Mercy. “Shortly after everything fell apart in New Mexico, I used the same portal generator that I used to access Tartarus to do a little _cleaning_. I found her still shackled to the wall, looking rather indifferent to it all.”

“And yet she’s not shackled now,” he pointed out.

“It wasn’t necessary. She was quite cooperative. Apparently, she can’t go back to her world. She betrayed her husband. She aided Apollo and Ares in their efforts. She has exceedingly few options in terms of escaping Olympus’ harsh judgment. I convinced her that her best recourse was to trust in the man who outsmarted the gods once before.”

“You didn’t have to be so immodest,” said Lex, now grinning intently.

“It still worked. She agreed to come with me and I agreed to hide her here. She hasn’t said much, but she has revealed quite an extensive knowledge of these gods you so thoroughly subverted. It sounds like the kind of knowledge that will be useful moving forward.”

“Oh it most certainly will,” he affirmed with the utmost certainty.

His body was still weak and his vitals were still unsettled, but Lex Luthor refused to let this feeble form slow down his genius. Ignoring the lingering soreness and discomfort, he ripped out the IV tubes and monitoring sensors. Then, with legs barely strong enough to support his weight, he slipped out of the bed.

Mercy attempted to support him at first, helping him take his first steps. He quickly shook off further assistance, choosing to make his way over to the other bed under his own power. His determination and will were no match for the damage done by Superman, Wonder Woman, and Lois Lane. Upon reaching the still solemn figure of Persphone, he looked down on her and smiled. He lightly pushed back the hood obscuring her beauty and caressed her face. When she finally looked up at him, he saw in her the key to regaining the power that had been unjustly taken from him.

“I…I’m told you can help me,” said Persephone in an anxious tone. “Please…I’ll do whatever I can to aid you. Just protect me from Olympus’ wrath.”

“I can do more than that, my dear. And you can do more than you think,” said Lex. “Come with me. I’ll prove it. I think you and I will be able to help each other in some very _productive_ ways.”

* * *

**Themyscira – Temple of Athena**

Every great upheaval left behind a great many wounds. Centuries ago, the battle against Hercules created the upheaval that led to the Amazons forging a new home and a new future on Themyscira. The wounds from that battle still lingered, but it didn’t prevent them from becoming stronger. Now, the Amazons had incurred a different kind of wound that would require a different kind of strength from which to heal. It promised to create plenty of upheaval, but it also promised to make them stronger.

It had been two days since the battle against Ares ended. It was hardly enough time to fully recover, but the Amazons never allowed themselves to rest for long. As soon as enough sisters were able to get up and walk, they began the solemn task of rebuilding what Ares tried to destroy. Their homes, ships, and temples could be repaired. Their immortal bodies could heal from the physical scars. However, the number of sisters that fell in this battle made this rebuilding effort more arduous than any battle. The first day was spent collecting the bodies, wrapping them in linins, and digging graves. Some Amazons broke down and cried at the sight of such loss, but their spirits remained strong and so did their faith.

Despite the treachery of Ares, the Amazons did not abandon their faith in the gods and the gods did not abandon them. The oracles remained in constant contact with Olympus. Hera now sat on the throne as Zeus recovered from his sacrifice. The Sons of Leuctra were permitted to stay in Hera’s garden on Olympus until their fate could be decided. She also decreed that Diana and Hessia’s exile be temporarily suspended until a more official judgment could be rendered. She even granted Superman provisional access to Themyscira, but stopped short of giving him full rite of passage. Amazonian attitudes towards men could not be expected to change after one battle. The traditions and customs that had sustained their sisterhood for centuries could not be reformed overnight. However, they could take the first important steps.

This long-overdue process was set to begin in less than an hour. Nearly every Amazon in Themyscira had gathered at the Temple of Athena to learn how their new future would be administered. Themyscira was now without a queen. If they were to navigate this future, then they needed a leader. In the hearts of many, Hippolyta was still that leader. However, she had tainted the trust and honor of her sisters by having an illicit affair with a god and lying about Diana’s birth. No matter what her status was before, she could not escape judgment, nor did she try to. She understood that in order for her sisters to move forward, they needed to leave these old burdens behind.

_‘Rulers fail their citizens. Gods fail their adherents. And mothers fail their daughters. Every Amazon knows this, but few understand it. We fought for so long to uphold our traditions and our sacred code, thinking it would protect us. We were wrong. I was wrong. It’s time to accept that.’_

Hippolyta had to process many harsh realizations since her secrets were exposed. Now her sisters had to process them as well. Aleka was organizing the Amazon Court with the aid of Hera. While the primary purpose of this gathering was to establish new leadership for the Amazons, part of that process involved rendering a judgment for her crimes. She would soon have to face her sisters and accept whatever punishment the gods decreed.

This meant she had to wait in the chamber of the accused within the temple like any other transgressor. As the former queen sat on the cold floor and hugged her knees, she found herself praying once more.

“Gods give me strength,” she said with anxious breath.

“Are you sure you want to make such a request? Your response might be _mixed_ , to say the least,” said a familiar voice on the other side of the chamber door.

Hippolyta perked up from her solemn state as the chamber door opened and Diana entered. It made for an awkward moment, her daughter seeing her in such a vulnerable state. But Diana didn’t let it stay awkward.

“I thought I’d pay a visit before the trial. If the gods won’t grant you strength, then I guess it’s up to me to fill in,” said Diana.

“I appreciate the intent, Diana. But I was hoping you would skip this part of the trial,” said Hippolyta. “Perhaps you would be more comfortable in the arms of your lover.”

“He had to leave the island for a bit. He needed to catch up with his friends of his back in Metropolis. He promised he’ll be back in time for the final judgment.”

“Would you blame me if I hope he broke that promise?”

“Not as much as you think,” she replied. “The mere fact you encouraged me to be in his presence reveals just how difficult this is for you. That gives me all the more reason to be by your side.”

Exile had not made Diana any less compassionate or loving. Despite her mother’s solemn state, she smiled and sat down on the hard floor next to her. Hippolyta only managed a partial smile in response. She still had a hard time looking her daughter in the eye. There was still so much unresolved bitterness between them, but now was as good a time as any to confront it.

“It’s ironic, is it not?” mused Hippolyta. “It wasn’t that long ago when our positions were reversed. You were the one sitting in this chamber, preparing to face judgment. And I was the one trying to give you strength.”

“I’ve always found irony to be grossly overrated,” said Diana.

“There’s just one major difference this time,” the former queen continued. “When you sat in this very position, you did so with a pure spirit – whereas mine is tainted with hypocrisy.”

“I’ve always found that concept to be grossly overrated as well.”

“That doesn’t make it any less valid. I condemned you for feeling love and compassion for a man, just like the rest of your sisters. But unlike our sisters, I had a similar experience with a man…an experience that I hid from everybody I loved.”

For the first time in years, Hippolyta allowed herself to relieve that experience in her memory. She went to great lengths to censor it from her mind in order to avoid revealing it in any way. Now, her secrets having been revealed, she could confront them. It was liberating in a ways because it reminded her how powerful an experience it had been.

“I’ll spare you the intimate details, as I’m sure you’d rather not know them,” she said.

“I can do without them, but even I admit I’m curious,” admitted Diana.

“The only detail that mattered to me was my desire to have a child. Even though childbirth was exceedingly rare, I was present for nearly every birth. In those wonderful moments, I saw the joy in the eyes of my sisters when they held their child in their arms. The more I saw it, the more I wanted to experience it. But between the mere act of producing a child and the process Amazons had to endure to enjoy that benefit – well, let’s just say I grew impatient.”

She could still feel Diana’s loving, compassionate gaze on her. Hippolyta still couldn’t bring herself to look at her, knowing it would only make these emotions harder to deal with. She closed her eyes and rested her head back against the wall, reliving that fateful experience that produced such a beautiful daughter.

“This is where part of the lies took on a grain of truth,” she continued. “I told my sisters I would spend a week at the north shores, fasting and praying to the gods for a child to call my own. In reality, I locked myself in the Temple of Demeter. I made sure I did this during the Festival of Artemis because I knew this would ensure my sisters would be occupied. I then started praying at the shrine, begging the gods for a chance to embrace the joys of motherhood. I didn’t know how they would respond, but nothing could’ve prepared me for what happened.”

“I take it that’s when Zeus showed up,” surmised Diana, trying not to picture that moment too vividly.

“And this is where my greatest desperation became my greatest secret,” said Hippolyta. “I don’t remember everything he told me. I knew he had made a promise to cease his illicit affairs and I knew that having one with him would incur the worst possible wrath of the very goddess the Amazons worshipped. But that didn’t matter. All that mattered was the promise he made me. If I would lay with him, then he would give me the child I wanted so desperately.”

“On some levels, you had to understand that doing so would come back to haunt you,” said Diana.

“I did. In my heart of hearts, I knew it was inevitable. But I didn’t care. I was willing to take that chance.”

This was the point where her memories got too vivid. She remembered the moment she first disrobed in front of Zeus. It was the first time she had exposed herself to a man since she was brutalized by Hercules. At first, it disgusted her. Then Zeus disrobed and a different set of emotions took over. At that moment, she knew she was betraying Hera, her sisters, and the Amazon Code she swore to uphold.

“From the moment the sun set to the moment it rose the next day, I laid with this man. I let him touch me in ways I swore no man would ever touch me again,” said Hippolyta distantly.

“Now I’m not nearly as curious,” muttered Diana, getting somewhat uncomfortable with these details.

“Our union was…powerful to say the least. Strength supporting strength…sinews entwined…it was an experience unlike anything I had ever imagined. At times, I had to remind myself that this was still a man. Sometimes I tell myself Zeus put me under some kind of charm. Or maybe Aphrodite herself was secretly hiding in the shadows, making sure my revulsion of men didn’t _hinder_ the experience. But that would’ve only added to the lie.”

“You do seem to enjoy making things harder on yourself, mother.”

“There’s more to it than that. I made it clear to Zeus that I didn’t want any manipulation to be involved in the creation of my child. I wanted it to be done willingly in a clear state of mind. That meant enduring an experience that evoked some rather _mixed_ feelings.”

“I thought you said you were going to spare me the details.”

“These details are worth noting,” said Hippolyta. “The act of making you and the act of being ravaged by Hercules couldn’t be more different. I promised myself I wouldn’t enjoy it. I think Zeus actually took a special satisfaction in doing everything he could to make me reconsider my revulsion of men. Maybe I should’ve shared in that effort. Maybe I should’ve seen it as a sign. Maybe Zeus even intended for it to be a sign.”

“I doubt Zeus ever puts that much thought into how he exercises his list,” said Diana.

“It doesn’t matter. I still should’ve acknowledged it. The act of lying with a man didn’t have to be so repugnant. It could actually be…enjoyable. If I had dared allowed myself to think such provocative thoughts, then maybe I wouldn’t have made such poor decisions with a man came along to evoke similar thoughts in you.”

It still made for some uncomfortable notions for Diana. She didn’t care to think about how much her mother enjoyed lying with Zeus in the act of making her. However, she did understand why it was so important to share. It revealed that on some levels, her mother understood the flaws in the Amazon attitude towards men. It was refreshing in that Diana wouldn’t have to go as far to convince her that these attitudes were in need of reform. It didn’t make some of her decisions any less misguided, but it showed her mother and her fellow Amazons could change.

The idea of changing these traditions still felt so daunting. But in recalling this profound experience, Hippolyta realized just much she clung to her hatred of mankind. When she finally turned to look at her daughter, she felt another wave of remorse because she went to such lengths to instill that same hatred. What made it even more egregious now was that her experience with Zeus revealed to her just how flawed that hatred was.

“Diana…I know I don’t deserve your forgiveness so I’m not going to ask for it,” said Hippolyta, her voice now strained with emotion, “But I need to say it anyways. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry for the lies I fed you…the questions I never answered…the hypocrisy I showed.”

“It’s okay, Mother. It doesn’t matter now,” said Diana, her tone becoming emotional as well.

“No. It’s _not_ okay. I remember so many times you daring to show love for man and not just your sisters. And I kept stopping you. What kind of mother stops her daughter from loving others?”

“The kind who fears for what her daughter might learn. I understand that now,” said Diana, offering her mother a comforting gesture. “It’s not always right, but it’s still done out of love.”

“It’s still not an excuse. No amount of fear is enough to justify what I did to you. Luckily for both of us, you were too stubborn and headstrong to blindly obey your mother.”

“I’m not sure that counts as luck.”

“Then maybe it was fate. Maybe you were meant to be the Amazon who dared to defy our traditions. It put you in a position to save us all. You were the only one who could’ve done what was right…because you knew in your heart what was right. If only all of our sisters had that strength. If only I had that strength to…”

The former queen had to stop. The emotions became too much to handle. She started sobbing and tried to turn away so her daughter wouldn’t see her tears. But Diana didn’t let her. Overwhelmed with emotion herself, Diana embraced her mother with all the love and compassion that a daughter could give.

It was a moment that should’ve happened a lot sooner. It was a moment that came dangerously close to not happening at all. They had been torn apart over these rigid traditions and misguided values. It took a crisis of divine proportions in the most literal sense of the term to get them to see everything clearly. Now all these feelings and uncertainties that plagued them were melting away. Even though their future was still shrouded in uncertainty, Diana and her mother could now say they were ready to face it.

Diana kept holding her mother for as long as they needed to get the emotions out. When sobbing subsided and the two proud warriors gathered themselves, they felt a renewed sense of strength. Being Amazons made them inherently strong, but being able to finally follow their hearts made them many stronger than any blessing of the gods.

“What’s done is done. There’s no use lamenting over it. There’s no use being defined by it,” said Diana. “Right now, I just want to focus on the future.”

“So do I,” said Hippolyta, wiping some of the tears from her eyes.

“Whatever our sisters and the gods decide, we’ll face it together.”

“That we will. And so long as we listen to our hearts, I have faith that we can make a better future for ourselves and our sisters,” said the former queen proudly.

“Well this time, we have much more incentive,” said Diana with a smile.

Hippolyta smiled back and hugged her daughter again. It felt like she had finally said everything she needed to say. However, there was still one issue that needed to be addressed.

“And while we’re on the subject of following our hearts, can you tell me where your heart currently stands on this man you’ve given it to – this Superman as the Sons of Leuctra called him,” she said in a more curious tone.

Now Diana felt uncomfortable again. This was one issue she hoped to address after their judgment was rendered.

“Do we really need to go into that at a time like this?” asked Diana.

“Well what time could be better?” questioned Hippolyta.

“Mother, you already know where I stand with Kal. I love him. He loves me. I am his woman. He is my man. First, I built a life in man’s world. Then I built a life with him.”

“And I’d like to know more about both those lives. But more importantly, I’d like to be part of those lives as we move into the future. I know the future of the Amazons and Themyscira is important. But what about your future, Diana? What do you want out of it and how does this man fit into it?”

Diana hadn’t gotten around to asking herself that question yet. She had been so focused on reaching out to her mother and her sisters that she didn’t have time to think about what this all meant for her and Kal. Fighting by his side and sharing the burdens of battle with him did more than enough to convince her that this was the man her heart desired. But knowing this and knowing how to move forward with it were two very different concepts.

It might have been too soon to think about, but the time when she and Kal would have to start taking those first steps forward would come soon enough. Her mother was taking that step. Her sisters were taking that step. Even the gods were taking that step. She could only stand by them for so long. At some point, she would have to stand on her own.

Her mother was still very curious about how she would answer her question. However, Diana never got the chance. The chamber door opened and Aleka stepped in. The mood quickly became tense. This woman had been the one to trigger the events that led to this moment. It seemed only fitting that she would be part of how it ended.

“It’s time,” was all she said.

Knowing what this meant, Diana and Hippolyta exchanged glances. All these issues about the secrets of the past and the affairs of the present could wait. Now, as they stood up together as mother and daughter, they were ready to face their future.

* * *

**Up next: War and Peace and Love**


	21. War and Peace and Love

**Strangers In Paradise**   
**Chapter 21: War and Peace and Love**

* * *

**Skies over Themyscira**

_“Make no mistake, Clark. You’ll have a lot of catching up to do when you get back. Perry actually cracked a smile this morning. You should’ve seen it! None of us thought Luthor would top himself after the Metallo ordeal, but he somehow found a way to look like the dumbest genius in history!”_

Clark couldn’t stop smiling as he listened to Lois detail the aftermath of Lex Luthor’s latest failure over the phone. She had been talking a mile a minute since he called her. Having flown up over the mystical shroud protecting Themyscira, he intended to check in with her while the Amazon Court began deliberations on what would be done with Diana and her mother. He also planned to update her on how things were going with Diana, having already come up with a series of half-truths about how he and her family were working things out. But that plan ended up being unnecessary. As soon as Lois started talking about this story, there was no stopping her.

He couldn’t remember Lois ever sounding this elated. Then again, it wasn’t every day a megalomaniacal madman like Lex Luthor ever showed his true colors for all to see. According to Lois, the footage she and Jonathan captured in New Mexico went viral the moment the Dailey Planet posted it on their website. Hours later, Lois did a live report from New Mexico with Jonathan Carroll. They even coordinated with the authorities to get some of the Helion Solar personnel to describe this test and the unexpected results it yielded. Between their testimony and the footage Jonathan took with his equipment, it was a boon.

In the two days he and Diana had spent healing from their wounds, the world turned against Lex Luthor. He was now a madman on the loose. It put the Daily Planet in a venerable position. Web traffic went through the roof as Lex Luthor’s deranged musings were broadcast all over the world. For the first time, everybody got to hear how this man truly thought. The image of the benevolent businessman was shattered for good, making his and Wonder Woman’s triumph over him all the more satisfying.

“I’ll be sure to check out all the write-ups on my flight back, Lois. I promise I’ll start contributing as soon as I get back. I just wish I could’ve been there to see the look on Perry’s face,” said Clark into his phone, sensing Lois was still smiling on the other end.

 _“Too bad that won’t be in any articles. Would you believe me if I told you he actually has gone two days without smoking a cigar?”_ replied Lois.

“Only to the extent I believe that we’ve finally exposed Lex Luthor for the man he really is,” he said.

_“Be careful with the pronouns, Smallville. Remember, you didn’t do anything. You’ve been off getting cozy with your girlfriend’s family while Jonathan and I were roughing it in New Mexico.”_

“I always give credit where credit is due, Lois. That’s why it’s worth reminding you that I gave you that story about Helion Solar. I had a feeling there was something fishy going on, but I had no idea Lex Luthor’s name would be attached to it.”

 _“Point taken, but don’t expect Perry to give you any extra pats on the back. He’s already loading up the gravy train and he’s going to ride it as far it’ll take us,”_ said Lois. _“Since the Planet was on the ground floor of the anti-Luthor movement, we’re going to spearhead the effort in taking him down. He may still be at large, but he’s lost the image he worked so hard to create.”_

She said these words knowing better than anyone that this completely changed the way Lex Luthor operated. It was one thing for him to hide behind creations like Metallo, but his overpaid lawyers could only spin it so much when Luthor’s own voice echoed from a monstrosity like the Annihilator Armor. The image of him trying to crush Superman and Wonder Woman was now his most defining moment. So long as he remained at large, he would still be dangerous. But for now, this defeat would ensure he had far fewer resources.

It was an unexpected bonus that Clark never planned for. He gave Lois the Helion story because he trusted her to dig up the truth while he focused on Diana. It was funny how everything panned out. Battling alongside Diana and dealing with the gods of Olympus gave him a newfound respect for the concept of fate. Sometimes there were connections in every struggle and the strength of those connections could make all the difference.

These connections promised to shake things up at the Daily Planet once he got back. He would probably have plenty to keep him busy, both as Superman and Clark Kent. The Daily Planet would keep spreading the truth about Lex Luthor while Superman worked to put him behind bars. It was a promising world to return to, but it was also a world he intended to share with Diana.

Between the rigors of this battle and the stories Lois described, this changing world was going to need both Superman and Wonder Woman. Together, they stopped Lex Luthor and Ares. Together, they revealed just how strong they could be as lovers and as warriors. It promised to be a time where both the truth and hope would help forge a better future.

“I look forward to seeing where this leads us. It’s a good time to be working for the planet,” said Clark.

 _“That’s for sure, but don’t try to rush back too quickly. I haven’t forgotten why you’re over there in the first place. I also haven’t forgotten I’ve been talking your ear off for the past half-hour and I haven’t once asked about Diana,”_ replied Lois.

“Well that’s a story that’s still incomplete,” he said, having to be tactful with his words once more. “I managed to meet up with Diana’s mother. I even met some of her family. They’re all…nice once you break the ice.”

_“Quit pretending your ass isn’t sore, Clark. I know all about family issues. I’d be shocked if they didn’t make you fight a full-blown war to get on their good side.”_

Clark fought with all his might not to laugh. Lois didn’t know just how right she was. It was almost too fitting, given her role in this ordeal. It also helped put a few things into perspective.

 _“Don’t get too confident,”_ Lois continued. _“Dealing with the family of loved ones is always an ongoing struggle. Jonathan’s dad still gives me a dirty look every time I see him. He still thinks I’m corrupting his son by moving in with him without marrying him.”_

“I’ll try to keep that in mind,” said Clark. “I’m not expecting all the dirty looks to go away, but I think we’re at a place right now where Diana and I can move forward with our lives.”

“ _And just how forward are we talking about here? Are we talking about just sharing a barn or are we talking about building a whole new farm here?”_

“Lois, just because I was raised on a farm doesn’t mean I understand all the colorful metaphors that go along with it,” said Clark.

_“Don’t avoid the question, Clark. It’s a legitimate concern. When I moved in with Jonathan, I did so with the idea that it was a step towards something more serious. Now I’ll let you come up with whatever metaphors you want on what those steps might be, but I think you already know what they are for you and Diana. How many of them are you willing to take?”_

Once again, Lois didn’t know how right she was. This time, however, she was very serious about what this mean for his and Diana’s future. Lois was ahead of the curve in that she had already taken a few steps with Jonathan Carroll. Just seeing them work together in New Mexico showed how far along they were. It gave Clark something to think about in determining where he stood with Diana and where he wanted to take this with her.

A lot of what they ended up deciding would depend on how the Amazon Court judged Diana and her mother. She was still going to play a major role in the affairs of her homeland and her family was certainly going to play a role in their relationship. It was going to be a challenge, regardless of whatever judgment was rendered. But the more Clark thought about it, the more he believed he was ready for this.

“I’ll definitely give that some thought, Lois,” said Clark. “I can’t answer that question now, but I should be able to once I get back to Metropolis.”

 _“You better. Because if you don’t give me the juicy details, you know I’ll get them from Diana. She and I talk. And you can expect us to blow things way out of proportion,”_ said Lois in a semi-threatening tone.

“The extent to which you care about my personal life is touch, Lois,” teased Clark.

_“You make it a tough job, but somebody’s gotta to do it. Just do what you do best and give Diana even more reasons to love you.”_

“Consider it done,” he said without hesitation.

_“Then get back to tending to your woman while I get back to belaboring Lex Luthor’s latest failures. Send Diana my regards and I’ll see you two love birds in a day or two.”_

“Sounds like a plan. Take care, Lois.”

" _Likewise, Smallville.”_

The call ended and Clark continued to hover high in the skies over Themyscira. After putting away his cell phone, he looked out over the horizon at the late morning sun and absorbed some of its rays. He would need the strength it gave him to get through this day. So much of his future with Diana would be determined today, but he had faith that this would make them both stronger in the long run. And after what Lois told him about taking the next step with Diana, he realized he could go even farther. With the Amazon Court set to make its decision soon, Clark still had time to show Diana just how bright their future could be together.

“Do what I do best. Give her more reasons to love me,” said Clark, echoing Lois’ words. “For Diana, I can do that.”

* * *

**Themyscira – Temple of Athena**

Throughout the history of the Amazons, the concept of justice had been pretty easy to grasp. Everything that was in the best interests of Themyscira and their sisterhood was inherently just. The will of the gods was, by default, an act of justice. It was so simple that it rarely required debate. An Amazon that broke the rules or defied the gods knew as well as her sisters what the consequences entailed. But that was before their traditions and their gods betrayed them.

The Amazons never struggled this much to determine the merits of justice. This wasn’t as simple as wrapping the accused in the lasso of truth and having them confess. Every Amazon on Themyscira knew what Hippolyta and Diana did. They didn’t even attempt to deny it. Under the strict traditions of the past, their actions were an affront to Amazon justice. Now, in wake of so much upheaval, nobody was certain anymore. But they had to make a decision. If the Amazons were to have any hope of making Themyscira and their sisterhood stronger, then they had to grasp a new understanding of justice.

“Are the accused ready to hear their final judgment?” said Hera, who presided over the whole process.

“I am ready, Goddess,” said Hippolyta, still respectful and pious in her demeanor.

“As am I,” said Diana, who stood by her mother’s side.

“Then approach the Court for the final ruling.”

Standing together as mother and daughter, Diana and Hippolyta stepped forth to receive the final judgment of their sisters and their gods. Before them was a long semi-circular table where the sisters representing the Amazon Court, each of which had been chosen by Hera to administer this case. This included some of the highest ranking Amazons on Themysicra such as Philipus, Epone, Menalippe, and Penthesilea. Aleka had also been chosen, having been the one who revealed the secrets that started them down this path. They all answered to Hera, who acted as an overseer from the throne behind the table that Hippolyta usually sat in. However, Hera acted only as a guide, granting the Amazons the final decision. For this reason, every Amazon had gathered around the temple and crowded the entrance in anticipation of this final judgment. It was a decision that wouldn’t just affect the fate of Diana and Hippolyta. It would likely determine the future of the Amazons.

From the moment the trial began shortly after the sun rose over Themyscira, the Amazons heard testimony and conducted numerous debates. It began with Hera listing the transgressions Diana and Hippolyta had committed. Then she had Philipus list the transgressions the gods had committed in their response to this crisis. It helped give everyone the right perspective, allowing them to confront the extent of their shortcomings and how they had allowed devious men and gods exploit them. It complicated the debates, making it impossible to apply the standards dictated by tradition. But that ended up being a necessary part of the process.

Diana and Hippolyta didn’t just give reasons for why they did what they did. They sparked entire debates over the merits of Amazon traditions, much of which was driven by their hatred of men. It opened old wounds that hadn’t been confronted in centuries. They talked about the crimes committed by Hercules. They talked about Diana’s first encounter with Kal. They talked about Hippolyta’s decision to lay with Zeus and the lies she told as a result. They even talked about fighting alongside the Sons of Leuctra in the battle against Ares. Recent events turned every tradition and assumption upside down for the Amazons, but they all agreed they couldn’t rely on these traditions anymore.

Emotions ran high at times. Some even started shouting in an effort to make their voices heard, but Hera made sure things didn’t get too hostile. She kept reminding them that both the Amazons and the gods needed to come up with a new way of conducting themselves. Now that she was ruling in Zeus’ place, she had every intention of establishing a precedent here on Themyscira.

“Let it be stated for the annuls that the decisions rendered today will serve as the basis for Themyscira’s new traditions as we move forward,” said Hera. “The old ways served us well for centuries, but we’ve all learned the hard way that these ways are no longer sufficient. With that in mind, my loyal disciples – judge wisely and judge with your hearts.”

“Thy will be done, Goddess Hera,” said each woman on the Amazon Court simultaneously.

Every Amazon present bowed as well, acknowledging the importance of Hera’s statement. It also made Diana and Hippolyta more anxious, knowing just how high the stakes were. They each wore the ceremonial togas of the accused, which they could only shed once a judgment was rendered. They also had to wear special braces around their wrists to symbolize their restraint under the weight of their accusations. Together, they bore more burdens than those of their accusations. This promised to be a defining moment for the future of the Amazons.

As Diana and her mother stood before the Amazon Court, she briefly turned to her right to see Clark watching over her from a special observation area alongside Hessia. Since he was still a man and Hessia was still an exile, they had to be surrounded by Amazon guards at all times. But Hera permitted them both to be present during this hearing. Despite the tense moments that were sure to follow, Clark cast a reassuring smile. Diana smiled back, drawing strength from his support and the knowledge that he helped make this overdue moment possible.

“Before the judgment is rendered, the accused are hereby granted one last opportunity for a statement,” said Hera. “Do you have anything else to add?”

“No, Goddess Hera,” said Diana without hesitation. “I’ve made my choices. I’ve my feelings about those choices clear. I did what I did. I aided a man in need, returned from self-imposed exile, and waged war against treacherous gods. And I did it with the utmost love in my heart. My love for my sisters, my home, and the man who returns my love with his own has guided all my actions.”

Her statement surprised no one, although it still generated a fair amount of mumbling. Some, like Aleka, still had a hard time accepting the idea of Diana being in love with a man. Others, like Hessia and Hippolyta, smiled warmly at the way she proudly reaffirmed her dedication to following her heart.

“What about you, Hippolyta? Do you have anything else to say?” asked Hera, ignoring some of the chatter.

“Yes. As a matter of fact, I do,” said Hippolyta.

The former queen looked over towards her daughter briefly and then over towards the man she fell in love with. She still had mixed emotions about her daughter being involved with a man. However, the way they carried themselves, going back to their first encounter all those years ago, revealed many profound truths that she had yet to confront. With every one of her sisters and the goddess herself watching, Hippolyta used this chance to ensure these truths remained a part of their future.

“What I’m about to say may upset my sisters, but it needs to be said,” Hippolyta began. “If these proceedings and the recent events that inspired them have shown us anything, it’s this – Diana and the man they call Superman were the only ones who acted in accord with the true ideals of the Amazons.”

Her words evoked a series of gasps throughout the crowd. Even Hera was surprised by what she said, but Hippolyta didn’t let this stop her from continuing.

“We Amazons have always preached the values of unwavering strength and compassionate heart,” she went on. “We strive to carry ourselves honorable in the spirit battle and sisterhood, but these efforts have always been…incomplete. We may have extended this sentiment to each other and the gods, but we denied it to the world of man. Now I know our excuse for doing this. We decreed that all men were vile creatures that couldn’t be trusted. We made this sweeping declaration because of the barbaric acts of one man. We let those acts harden our hearts – so much so that we refused to see the good in _any_ man, even when he washed up on our shores.”

Hippolyta turned to face Clark again, helping to direct the attention of her fellow Amazons in the process. She still remembered that fateful day they first encountered him. She remembered all the hate and mistrust they harbored. Now, as he stood before them as a champion of all that was good an honorable, the Amazons had to confront just how wrong they were that day.

“No matter how much the crimes of Hercules hurt us, it _cannot_ justify our actions,” said Hippolyta strongly. “We showed this man nothing but hate when his only crime was being a victim of fate. Yet despite our actions, he did not attempt to harm us. And despite our egregious treatment of him, he still came to our aid. Only Diana saw the good that our hardened hearts wouldn’t allow us to see. We should’ve known better. And in order to learn from our mistakes, we must _be_ better…because I’ve seen what will happen to us if we do not change our ways.”

She turned back to face the Amazon Court briefly. She had their full attention now. She then turned to face the Amazons that had crowded the temple. She could even see out the open door where the rest of her sisters had gathered to listen in on the proceedings. This was Hippolyta’s chance to address them all so they could know how close they came to betraying everything they stood for.

“Many of you might not recall what transpired while you were under Ares’ control, but I do. I saw what the Amazons did under his influence. Ares turned you on that man standing right there at this very moment – this same man that you once wanted to attack _without_ his influence. And you – no, _we_ attacked him.”

Hippolyta pointed towards Superman to emphasize her point. It drew unexpected attention towards him, something he was not prepared for. He did his best to remain respectful under the suspicious gazes of these women, but even he could tell that the tone of Hippolyta’s voice was having an influence.

“We assaulted him without mercy. We surrounded him, beat him, and wounded him on Ares’ behalf. But it wasn’t his influence that drove us. He only channeled the hatred that was already there,” Hippolyta continued, now speaking with shame in her tone. “The act of attacking an innocent – even a male innocent – is an atrocity. But the circumstance of this attack is what made it truly egregious.”

“Um…mother,” said Diana, sensing her mother was getting a bit worked up. “You might want to temper your tone.”

“He could’ve fought back – not just on that occasion, but on the one that preceded it,” Hippolyta continued, ignoring her daughter’s concern. “He had every reason to do so. We were threatening him…hurting him…assailing without mercy. Yet he did not fight back. He never raised his hand to an Amazon. He let us hurt him. In doing so, I saw something truly horrifying.”

For a moment, her gaze remained fixed on Clark. In looking at him, she still felt many mixed emotions. This was the man who captured her daughter’s heart, but he was also the man that drove her away from her sisters. In the end, his most important act was what he didn’t do when he had the chance. He even acknowledged this act, smiling and nodding to her to show that he understood the point she was trying to make.

“There’s a fine line between warrior and monster. A warrior fights with heart, honor, and compassion. A monster just fights to kill. And when I saw our sisters attacking this man, I didn’t see warriors. I saw monsters – not at all unlike the ones that ravaged us.”

“That…is a very severe comparison, Hippolyta. Are you sure you want to make it?” asked Philippus, hoping to stop her statement before she said anything too abominable.

“Yes. I’m sure,” said Hippolyta with the utmost certainty. “We cannot avoid the cold, hard truth. We became the very monsters we despised. We – in our hatred– attacked an innocent. We Amazons, with every breath we draw, pride ourselves on being warriors. Every time we march into battle, we proclaim that we are warriors. But have we ever stopped and considered that that truly means? Have we ever wondered if we are worthy of such a title? If our actions during this ordeal are any indication, then I can say without a shred of doubt that…no, they are not.”

These words evoked more gasps among the Amazons. At this point, Diana didn’t bother trying to stop her mother. She just smiled and shook her head. She was right. This needed to be said. As harsh as it might have been, every Amazon had to understand this before moving forward.

“We can no longer deny what we have experienced,” said Hippolyta, her voice finally settling. “This same man that we attacked still fought to save our home and our souls. This man and the Sons of Leuctra stood by us and fought with honor against forces only true warriors could confront. Remember, now and from this day forward, that the warriors who stood by us were men – good, honorable men.”

“Hippolyta, need I remind you that the honor of men is not a factor in our judgment today,” said Penthesilea as her words triggered more reactions.

“I know. It cannot change what you decide for me and Diana today. I only say it to instill in all of you a new perspective in rendering future judgments. We condemned _all_ men for the acts of a few. Now we have fought alongside others who deserve our respect and our love. I say that as your former queen who once championed the traditions that preserved that hatred.”

Her statement had now become a full-blown confession. She held her head low before her sisters as they watched and listened to the woman they once loved as their queen. Hippolyta saw in them plenty of conflict, but she also saw them accepting that conflict. It filled them with the same distressing feelings that she had felt when she saw the atrocities her sisters committed under Ares. It opened old wounds, but it also opened their hearts.

Confident that her sisters had gotten the core of her message, Hippolyta turned back to the Amazon Court that would decide her fate. She understood that nothing she said could influence them more than she already had. With Diana now looking at her with more pride than she had seen in years, Hippolyta stood strong in the face of a new fate.

“Regardless of whether I am your queen or your prisoner, I ask that you remember what this war has shown you. It’s not enough for Amazons to carry themselves as warriors anymore. We must strive to be something better. Great warriors know no gender. Such a struggle involves rising above the tragedies and atrocities we’ve suffered in the past, but I’m ready to endure it in order to be a better warrior and a better woman. My greatest hope is that my sisters will share that struggle with me.”

It was more than just a plea. It was a challenge to her sisters and the gods. Hippolyta dared them to be better. It was the kind of sentiment that struck all the right chords and even a few of the wrong ones.

More discussions and rumblings amongst the Amazons followed. It started getting somewhat chaotic. The hardened warriors talked amongst themselves, questioning and debating these new realizations that their former queen had just forced them to confront. For a moment, the actual purpose of this court became secondary. Hippolyta had her sisters more concerned about the bigger picture with Themyscira and the Amazons. She might not have been queen anymore, but she could still inspire her sisters for all the right reasons.

These rumblings continued. Hera did nothing to stop them, remaining silent and stoic. The only one who became really agitated by the effects of her statement was Aleka. Her emotions were still painfully raw from the revelations and betrayals that she herself exposed. She ended up pounding her fist on the table in an effort silence.

“Enough!” Aleka shouted. “There will be order in this court. We’re here to issue a ruling. We will _not_ distract ourselves with matters we’re not ready to address.”

“Isn’t that part of the problem, Aleka? That the Amazons have _never_ been ready to confront these issues?” questioned Hippolyta.

“You’ve already given your statement. You will be silent so we can proceed with this trial!” said Aleka, pounding her fists on the table again.

“Please be calm, my sisters. Let’s make this a time of healing, not discord,” said Epione, addressing her sisters in a calmer tone.

It took a few minutes for everything to settle down. During this time, a smile never left Hippolyta’s face. Her words had just the impact she had intended. These once forbidden ideas could no longer be suppressed. It annoyed some of her more hardened sisters, but even they could not deny the power of these ideas.

For Diana, who once exiled herself for daring to think the things her mother just said, she couldn’t have been more proud. Despite all the emotions and passions that tore them apart, her love and respect for her mother had never been greater. As order was restored, she reached over and lightly grasped her mother’s hand to convey those feelings.

“Thank you, mother,” said Diana warmly. “That needed to be said.”

“I didn’t just say it for you,” said Hippolyta. “It should’ve been said long ago. I just wish I didn’t wait until it nearly tore us apart.”

“But it didn’t,” she said strongly. “My love for my mother is stronger than that just as I know my mother’s love for me is stronger. And love will always be stronger than regret.”

Hippolyta squeezed her daughter’s hand, doing her best not to get too emotional before the final judgment was issued. They had to remain strong for each other and their sisters.

Eventually, the Amazons managed to silence themselves so they could listen to the judgment they all came to see. Once everything got quiet, the ranking members of the Amazon Court all stood up and turned towards Hera for a moment. She maintained her silence, not once taking her eye off Hippolyta and Diana. With a simple nod, she assured the Amazons that it was okay to proceed.

“The final statements have been issued,” announced Philippus. “From this moment forward, the accused are to remain silent. Is that clear?”

Diana and Hippolyta nodded, still holding their heads high in preparation for the ruling.

“Very well then,” she said. “Sisters of this court, are we ready to issue our final judgment?”

“Aye,” they all said simultaneously.

“Then allow me to begin by restating the transgressions we have before us. We have one sister with an admitted history of defying our laws,” said Philippus, looking towards Diana. “She went so far as to exile herself over her defiance, only to break the terms of that exile and return to Themyscira in an act of even greater defiance. By the letter of the law, this constitutes multiple crimes. But we all now know that the context of these crimes go beyond the law.”

Philippus then turned her attention to Hippolyta, still holding her daughter’s hand and bracing herself for the coming judgment.

“We also have a sister who, for many of us, is much more than a sister,” she continued. “Being our queen, we placed our absolute faith in you. We trusted you to be the arbiter of the values that we Amazons cherish. And you broke that trust. You lied to us about the circumstances of your daughter’s birth. You even lied to the very goddess we worshipped. And as part of those lies, you consorted with a man. He might have been a god, but he was still a man.”

Hera’s demeanor finally shifted at the mention of this crime. She couldn’t forget her husband’s role in this, nor could she ignore the feelings it evoked. But in the same way the Amazons sought to become better warriors, she sought to become a better goddess and this ruling was part of that process.

“These crimes, as I’ve described them, are severe in nature. However, we would be repeating past mistakes if we ignored the context of these crimes. What you both did – you did with no malice in your hearts. Diana, you dared to love for a man and embrace his world. Hippolyta, you dared to lie to your sisters and your goddess to protect your daughter. In no way does this constitute a crime of the heart or mind. If anything, it exposes another crime of which we are all guilty.”

Philippus turned to Menalippe. As the top oracle of Themyscira, she had been responsible for assessing this matter through various visions. The past, present, and future often became obscure in these visions, granting her a unique perspective that had to be taken into account in any judgment.

“The crime Philippus speaks of is one of hypocrisy,” said Menalippe solemnly. “It’s a crime that became painfully clear in my latest visions. We created a sisterhood that fosters compassion and love, but we abandon all of that the moment we regress to our traditions of hatred. That hatred does more than just insolate us from men. It makes that compassion and love we so cherish less meaningful. And we can’t hope to build a strong sisterhood on such hallow passions.”

The halls of the temple and all those standing outside it became deathly silent. Now the Amazons as a whole were being judged, not just Diana and Hippolyta. But like the former queen and princess, they did not avoid this judgment or make excuses. They had to confront their crimes as well.

“I saw the path we were on before and the many paths we could take,” Menalippe continued. “In all of these visions, there was one common theme. Our hatred for mankind and our adherence to tradition _always_ led towards destruction. If we were to judge you today by the letter of the Amazon Code, then we would continue down that path. More destruction will follow – if not from the gods, then certainly from ourselves. We simply cannot judge the crimes before us under that code anymore. So for the sake of the sisters standing before us and our sisterhood as a whole, we must dare to walk a new path.”

The Amazon Court had now entered the most difficult part of its judgment. With the Amazon Code no longer an option and so many uncertainties plaguing them, the Amazons would have to enter uncharted territory in protecting the sanctity of their sisterhood.

The burden of this task fell upon Aleka, the sister who had endured so much emotional upheaval from the moment this ordeal began. Once Hippolyta’s most loyal and trusted sister, she was hit harder by these crimes than nearly anyone else. Her gaze narrowed on her former queen, hiding the impact of these crimes as best she could. She still ended up doing a poor job because the strain of everything that had been said so far had already taken a toll.

“I don’t disagree with my sisters,” began Aleka. “We need a new path. We cannot follow the same ways that nearly led to our destruction. At the same time, we cannot forget what helped make us strong. We cannot forget the merits of these traditions. They may have been misguided, but they too had context. No matter what path we end up choosing, we cannot forget the one that brought us here.”

For a moment, Aleka looked over towards Clark. Seeing a man still brought out many painful emotions. The scars left by Hercules and his men could never fully heal. For that reason, the Amazons couldn’t completely reject the old ways.

“We must still have order, no matter what the context of a crime might be,” Aleka continued. “In the same way we cannot allow our passions to harden our hearts, we must not let those same passions make us vulnerable. That is the challenge this court faced in issuing a judgment. We understand that what we rule is going to do more than just address the crimes of two sisters. So as I read our final ruling, keep in mind that the past and the future must carry equal weight.”

Diana, Hippolyta, and every Amazon listened intently. In her hand, Aleka had a written decree articulating the judgment the court had rendered. It was sure to evoke a wide range of emotions, but these feelings had to remain secondary. So with the strength that made her such an imposing Amazon, Aleka read from the statement.

“Diana, for the transgressions you committed against your sisters and Themyscira, your status as princess is hereby revoked. From this day forward, you will no longer have a claim to the throne or a title beyond the rank of an Amazon warrior. You are also hereby barred from participating in the governance of Themyscira, absent a decree from the gods.”

It wasn’t at all the worst sentence that could’ve been rendered. It essentially ended any hopes Diana ever had of becoming queen, which she had never desperately sought. However, not being able to participate in the affairs of Themyscira, as she often did before her exile, still hit her on some levels.

“Just an Amazon warrior – I can live with that,” Diana said under her breath.

“That’s not all,” Aleka continued. “In the same way this court must judge your crimes, we must also judge your valor in coming to the aid of your sisters in Themyscira in their time of need. One part of Amazon tradition that is worth preserving is the importance of recognizing great valor. By doing what you knew in your heart to be right, you helped save us all…even after we condemned you.”

Aleka’s tone shifted. It was her subtle way of admitting that she did more than most to condemn Diana for her actions. While she would not apologize for it, she could not deny that this made Diana’s feats even more impressive.

“You fought with honor and heart when nobody else could,” she continued. “You endured hardship, pain, and struggle for your sisters, your gods, and a world you dared to embrace. For this reason and so many more, we hereby rescind the provisions of your exile. You will now be allowed to come and go as you please. While you may only bring guests that we deem fit for passage, you are once again welcome on the shores of Themyscira.”

This fateful judgment didn’t come with complete mercy, but it echoed with justice. It marked a clean break from Amazon tradition. There would be no labors or exile, but a price had still been paid. It left Diana with mixed emotions, but they felt like the right emotions. Despite remaining strong in her demeanor through every word of her judgment, she allowed herself to react. She bowed her head and smiled to herself, feeling a sense of closure that she thought she would never get.

“Do you accept these terms, Diana?” asked Philippus.

“I do,” said Diana without hesitation.

“Then it is settled,” she said. “Now, onto the next judgment.”

Now it was Hippolyta’s turn to remain strong. Being queen meant her judgment had much higher stakes. She expected her daughter’s judgment to be tempered because she boldly did what she knew to be right, regardless of what her sisters felt. Hippolyta couldn’t make that claim. She braced herself for a much harsher judgment.

Once again, it fell upon Aleka to deliver it. She set aside the parchment that detailed Diana’s judgment and retrieved the one that contained Hippolyta’s. The imposing Amazon actually hesitated for a brief moment, something she never did even in the heat of battle. She hadn’t forgotten all the loyalty and love she gave this woman over the course of her immortal life. She also hadn’t forgotten the pain she felt as a result of her betrayal. What she and this Court decided promised to strain her heart. But like the warrior she was, Aleka pressed on.

“Hippolyta – our beloved sister and former queen – please understand that the judgment I’m about to read has no precedent,” she began. “There are no provisions in the Amazon Code or any code we’ve ever followed on how to judge the transgressions of a queen. We never needed it. And some of us thought we never would.”

Hippolyta only nodded and bowed her head, remaining silent as instructed. It was her way of acknowledging that her transgressions went beyond traditions and codes. It also acknowledged to Aleka just how painful this was for both of them. Like her, she had to find the strength to endure the fate that lay before her.

“That being said, you still lied to us and the gods. You betrayed the trust and love of your sisters. This is something we simply cannot overlook,” Aleka continued. “However, we also cannot overlook that for the centuries preceding this secret, you honored that trust and love in a way that can never be matched. You led us, inspired us, and honored us for so long. To let this one act taint that legacy would be petty and cruel. We can’t – as a sisterhood – allow ourselves to be that heartless.”

There was a distinctly personal undertone to Aleka’s words, even as she read them out loud. It revealed that as hurt as she had been by Hippolyta’s actions, she hadn’t forgotten why she loved her so dearly in the first place. That gave the former queen assurance that her sisters wouldn’t allow an exceedingly unjust judgment.

“Determining a suitable recourse for your actions was incredibly difficult. We debated, argued, and prayed. And through our reason and our passions, we made as fair a ruling as we could,” said Aleka, taking a deep breath before reading the next part. “Hippolyta, for your actions and the consequences they wrought for your sisters and the gods, you are hereby stripped of your title as queen. It is the opinion of this court that no matter how much love and respect we have for a fellow sister, she is not immune to mistakes.”

The ruling was tough, but not unexpected. Hippolyta never expected to be reinstated as queen. She couldn’t possibly wear the crown after what she did. It still triggered some reactions amongst her sisters. The idea of not having a queen like her didn’t sit well with many. But the judgment wasn’t over so she remained silent.

“This court understands that this ruling will leave Themyscira without a queen. Let it be known that from this day forward, no Amazon will wield such a title. We simply cannot allow the mistake of one sister – no matter how loved and respected she might be – to put everything we hold dear at risk.” said Aleka. “Let it also be known that there is still a need for order as we rebuild our home. This process will afford us many opportunities. And among those opportunities is a chance for the accused to redeem herself in the eyes of her sisters.”

Aleka’s gaze narrowed on Hippolyta once more. She set aside the paper that detailed the ruling. She didn’t need to read from it at this point. She already knew it by heart because she was the one that helped craft it. There were still so many difficult emotions between them, but they still shared in their desire to do right by their sisters now and for whatever fate that awaited them.

“In this spirit and with the blessings of Hera, you are hereby bestowed with the title of Regent of Themyscira. Under this title, you will not wield the powers of a queen. However, you will retain limited powers – as determined by the gods and this court – so as to guide the Amazons through the new challenges before us. Let me make clear for the record that this is not an act of mercy. This is a chance to show your sisters that you’re capable of winning back their trust. It’s also a chance for you to show the gods that you can be better than you’ve let yourself be. For your sake and for the sake of your sisters, make good use of it.”

She made it sound less like a punishment and more like a challenge. Aleka stared down her former queen, daring her to be better. She also made clear that she would have to go farther than the provisions of this ruling to win back her trust. She gave her centuries of love and loyalty. She was willing to let her win it back, but it wouldn’t be easy.

“Do you accept these terms, Hippolyta?” said Philippus.

Hippolyta glanced over at her daughter briefly, who nodded confidently as a show of faith. She then looked back towards and Aleka, acknowledging both the content and the subtext of her words. She had already accepted that she would never be queen again in the eyes of her sisters, but that just meant she would have to fight harder to be the Amazon she wanted to be.

“I do,” said Hippolyta with all the strength and faith she could muster for her sisters.

“Then it is settled. This court is hereby adjourned.”

Philippus rose up, along with the rest of the Amazon Court. Hera then rose up after them from her throne. Every other Amazon watching knelt accordingly. Diana and Hippolyta bowed their heads respectfully as she approached. They could still feel in her gaze many mixed emotions. They were yet another product of her husband’s infidelity. But like the Amazons, she was not inclined to fall into old habits.

Now standing before the two women who had done so much to change the world of the Amazons, Hera waved her hand and the braces around their wrists unlocked themselves. It signified the true end of this ordeal and the beginning of a new era.

“I hereby bless the judgment of this court, as well as the accused in hopes that they uphold it,” said Hera with only a slight touch of bitterness.

“Thank you, Goddess. We promise to honor your blessings with all our hearts,” said Diana respectfully.

“And this time, I intend to keep my promises,” added Hippolyta.

“Be sure that you do. We’ve got enough challenges before us,” said the Queen of Olympus with a sigh. “Now let’s do something no god or demigod has ever done and avoid further tragedy. It’s time to build a better legacy for gods and mortal alike.”

Hera’s words evoked cheers and applause from every Amazon present. Hippolyta knelt before Hera again in a show of loyalty, triggering more mixed feelings within the jaded goddess. But despite all these feelings, she still smiled. Letting go of past injustice was never easy, but it had to start somewhere. It might as well be on this day.

While Hippolyta humbled herself before her beloved goddess once more, Diana immediately flew over towards Clark and embraced him. Her gesture triggered some surprised reactions from her sisters, who weren’t too familiar with the sight of a man and woman embracing each other so affectionately. They would have to get used to it though because Diana had no intention of not sharing this moment with the man she loved.

“What say you, Kal? Was justice served today?” asked Diana with a warm smile.

“In my experience, justice is an ongoing process. But I’d say any result that ends with you in my arms is a good sign,” said Clark, smiling back.

“Then I think I’m now ready to start working on that new legacy Hera mentioned.”

“So am I. And I have a feeling we’ll be in good company.”

* * *

**Later That Day**

The process of rebuilding was always longer than the act of destruction. Every warrior that ever set foot on a battlefield understood this. The greater the destruction was, the harder the rebuilding process ended up being. Most of the time, it was impossible to rebuild everything. The best any warrior could hope for was a better foundation than the one that had been lost.

For the Sons of Leuctra, they needed more than just a foundation. Ares’ treachery robbed them of more than just glory. It robbed them of their home. The Sparta they once fought so hard to protect was long gone, a relic of history. Their homes and their families now existed only as memories. However, these powerful warriors had no intention of letting their losses shatter their spirits. King Agesilaus III had inspired his brothers to embody the honor of Sparta until their dying breath and like true warriors, they had every intention of doing so as they rebuilt.

But they wouldn’t be starting from scratch. For the past few days, the Sons of Leuctra lived in a barracks near the base of Mount Olympus where they rested and healed. Then, Hera came to them with news of their future. She, in consultation with Hades and Poseidon, had made a decision on their future. For their valor and sacrifice, as well as the injustice they endured, the gods of Olympus aided them in a big way.

“Welcome to your new home, Sons of Leuctra,” proclaimed Poseidon in a booming tone. “By the power of the seas, I raise this land from the depths.”

In sight every bit as spectacular as the setting sun, Poseidon hovered over a seemingly empty patch of sea not far from the shores of Themyscira. The rest of the Sons of Leuctra watched from a fleet of boats crafted by the gods with Hera and King Agesilaus III standing at the bow of the lead ship. They could feel the waters churn and the sea floor shake as the God of the Seas rose a massive piece of land from the depths, forming an entire island that stood nearly as vast as Themyscira.

What would’ve taken natural forces centuries transpired in minutes. The Spartan Warriors watched as swirling storm cloud surrounded Poseidon, echoing with booming thunder as he shaped this new island to his will. Rock, dirt, and water warped in ways that only a god could command, creating everything from sandy shores to mountains. It offered the Sons of Leuctra plenty of space on which to build a new home, albeit with few resources. However, Hera knew how to deal with that issue.

“Nicely done, Poseidon,” she said dryly. “You’re as much the God of the Seas as you are the God of Showing Off. It’s decent, but it still needs a woman’s touch.”

Poseidon barely heard her, still hovering over the center of the island and using his power to help it settle. As the tremors finally started to die down, Hera levitated from the boat where she had been standing and flew over to the shores of the islands. As soon as she set foot onto the sandy, lifeless shores, she knelt down and gently touched this new land with her soft fingertips.

In doing so, a bright green light surrounded her hand. This light then spread out, going out in all directions from down the shore to the other side of the island. In its wake, a lush range of vegetation grew in mere minutes. The once lifeless hunk of rock turned into an island paradise, complete with trees, streams, plants, and animals. The Spartans could even hear the cries of the animals appearing, as if letting out cries of joy at the creation of this beautiful land.

It inspired unparalleled awe in the hardened warriors. It also reminded them that while the gods were capable of great destruction, they were also plenty capable of creation. The island before them now had everything a group of men needed to survive. It had fertile land to cultivate, pastures for animals, water for drinking, and materials for homes. They could’ve searched for centuries and never found an island this lush. These men, who no longer had a place to call home, witnessed the birth of a new Sparta. It had been a long time since any of them had seen such beauty and it filled them with a hope that Ares came so close to destroying.

“By the gods – there is justice in a hopeless world after all,” said King Agesilaus III.

Some of his brothers began cheering as they eagerly sailed to the shores of the island. By the time they arrived, the tremors finally ceased and Hera’s special touch was complete. The men were so overwhelmed by the beauty of this new land that some jumped off the boats and kissed the sands of the shore. Many could already envision the new homes and temples they would build. It might not be the same lands of their beloved Sparta, but it would preserve everything it stood for.

“I hereby deem this land, New Sparta,” said Hera, still standing on the sandy shores. “I think the Sons of Leuctra will be quite comfortable here, wouldn’t you say?”

“It’ll provide comfort second only to the battlefield,” said King Agesilaus III. “Thank you, Goddess Hera. On behalf of the Sons of Leuctra, thank you for this blessing.”

“Oh don’t humble yourself too much. It’s not like this blessing is an act of pure altruism. The gods are still a long ways away from _that_ divine feat. For what Ares did to you, I’d say this constitutes a down payment of sorts.”

“Call it what you will. My men and I are still eternally grateful.”

“And I’ll gladly accept gratitude over bitterness. I think the gods have had quite enough of that,” said Hera.

“So long as the gods do our part, we will do ours,” assured the Spartan King. “Passions are still raw. Hearts are still broken. It’ll take time for all of us to rebuild.”

“Then you should take comfort in the knowledge that the gods need you more than you need the gods at this point,” said Poseidon in a less booming voice as he descended from the sky.

The God of the Seas was a lot more restless than Hera, who was still adjusting to being ruler of Olympus. He had been with her and Hades when they decided to give the Sons of Leuctra a new home not far from Themyscira. The act of raising the necessary land from the sea floor was actually the easiest part. As Poseidon landed on the sandy shores next to Hera, he understood that a much greater challenge lay before them.

“You look a little restless, even for a god who just carved an island out of a sea floor, Poseidon,” commented Hera, who had hoped to avoid this conversation.

“If forging a new order was as easy as new land, then none of us would be restless,” said the God of the Seas. “We’re all eager to rebuild what Ares and Apollo destroyed, but there are certain logistics that we cannot overlook.”

“Can you not let these brave men just enjoy their new home for one evening before we get to that?” groaned Hera. “A lack of mercy is exactly what got us into this mess in the first place.”

“This isn’t about mercy. This is about protecting the foundation for our new order. And unfortunately, that will require some aspects of the old foundation to remain.”

Hera still didn’t care for this topic, even though it was bound to affect her in a big way. Being the ruler of Olympus had its perks, as her husband demonstrated many times during his reign, but it also came with burdens. Poseidon understood these burdens a bit better and decided to address them, even during what should’ve been a joyous time.

“King Agesilaus III of the Sons of Leuctra – I know the gods have said this many times over the past few days, but we thank you for valor in opposing our devious brethren,” said Poseidon, now speaking in a more diplomatic tone.

“It was our honor, Lord Poseidon,” said the Spartan King respectfully.

“It was more than that. You and your men were betrayed by a god. You had no reason at all to fight for us. Some would even argue you would’ve benefited if had Olympus fallen.”

“Some of my own men have made that argument, but they understand as well as I do that there is no honor in being petty. To let the actions of one god subvert our loyalty to all gods would just be another injustice.”

“Which on its own makes your men more honorable than most gods,” said Poseidon. “After what you endured, I’m actually perplexed at how you could stand for justice after so little has been granted to you.”

“It hasn’t been easy. That much, I’ll say. But it’s certainly easier when others inspire us to be better,” said King Agesilaus III.

The Spartan King smiled to himself in recalling the source of this inspiration. Others called him Superman. The gods still called him mortal. Neither could understand what he did for the Sons of Leuctra in their darkest hour. He guided them into noble battle at a time when their passions probably would’ve led them astray. And for a Spartan, leading a warrior to a noble battle was more than just an inspiration. It reminded them why justice and honor were worth fighting for.

“Whatever your inspiration, that honor and valor makes the Sons of Leuctra a precious commodity for the gods,” Poseidon continued.

“Right. And referring to mortals as commodities does _so_ much to inspire them even more,” said Hera, rolling her eyes at Poseidon’s poor choice of words.

“We are all in a precarious state at the moment. We have no idea how long Zeus will remain in his chamber. There are still many repairs to be made in and around Olympus and Themyscira. And as committed as we are to creating a more just order, there is still plenty of chaos to combat. The gods can only do so much. In fact, we can do even less than we did before. But these battles still need to be fought.”

“And I suppose this is where you want the Sons of Leuctra to contribute,” surmised King Agesilaus III.

It was easy to see where Poseidon was going with this. The idea of serving the gods after what Ares did to them couldn’t have been appealing. That’s why Hera decided to step in before Poseidon made it even less appealing.

“Before my brother-in-law put it into words that’ll grossly offend us all, I should probably add that your men would be more than contributors,” said Hera. “You see – for centuries, the Amazons were Olympus’ first line of defense. They acted as our army against that chaos that threatened to encroach into the mortal world. And while they served that role honorably for centuries, their efforts might not be enough anymore.”

“There’s no way to put it less offensively, Hera. The Amazons suffered significant losses in the battle against Ares. They also have the burden of rebuilding their home and reforming their entire culture,” added Poseidon.

“And my men do not?” questioned the Spartan King. “Like the Amazons, the Sons of Leuctra suffered significant losses as well. Now, we have an entire society to build on this island.”

“And the gods intend to aid you in building it. However, none of us have the luxury of ignoring this chaos,” said Poseidon strongly. “If we do not effectively work together, then we will all succumb alone.”

“Speak for yourself,” said Hera under her breath.

“That is why that – after consultation amongst myself, Hera, and Hades – we ask that you join the army of Olympus where you will serve alongside the Amazons as protectors of the mortal realm.”

“And yes, this means the Sons of Leuctra will fight alongside an army of warrior women who spent a great many centuries rejecting and despising all men,” added Hera, “But I assure you, they’re working on reassessing some of those values.”

“I must also make clear that this is not a decree,” continued Poseidon. “You and your men could walk away from us if you wish. But by serving the gods, your men and your new home will receive the same blessings as the Amazons.”

“My men appreciate the blessings of the gods as much as anyone. But forgive us if we’re a bit more wary of the price of those blessings,” said the Spartan King.

Poseidon began getting impatient. He wasn’t used to being diplomatic. He and the other gods were too accustomed to just demanding something and getting their way. Once again, Hera stepped in to make it a better deal for all of them.”

“I know gods have made similar promises in the past and broken them, but this time we all have more incentive to do the right thing,” she said. “This ordeal with Ares has humbled us all. In some respects, it was overdue.”

“Speak for yourself,” said Poseidon, echoing the same tone Hera used earlier.

“Take it from someone who knows better than any god or mortal – holding a grudge only makes things worse,” Hera continued. “We’ve given mortals like you too many reasons not to have faith in us. Now we’re asking you to cling to what’s left of that faith. If it’s any comfort at all, know that the gods have much more faith in mortals than they have in us. I’d like to make something of that and I’d also like your men to be part of it.”

It was probably the most humble a god had ever spoken to a mortal. King Agesilaus III still maintained his respectful poise before Hera and Poseidon, but he remained tepid in placing his faith in them again. He understood that they were all in an unfavorable situation. They had all lost so much and they were all vulnerable to losing even more. But as the Spartan King looked back at his men while they eagerly crowded the shores of their new home, he contemplated the future of his brothers.

The world was a very different place. So much time had passed and based on what the gods revealed to them over the past few days, a great deal had changed. Sparta wasn’t just gone. The very concept of what it meant to be a warrior had evolved. There were few places for the kinds of warriors his men strived to be. But the gods of Olympus still had a need for such warriors and his men still harbored that same warrior spirit.

They never got a chance to fight the battles that would’ve saved their homes. Now they had a chance to fight new battles to save what they had left. It promised to test their faith more than it already had. But if that faith granted them another chance for glory, then it was certainly a faith worth saving. While King Agesilaus III’s faith had been shaken by Ares’ treachery, it hadn’t been broken. When he turned back to face Hera and Poseidon once more, he conveyed a strength befitting of a warrior.

“I believe I speak for all my brothers when I say the Sons of Leuctra would be honored to lend our swords,” said the Spartan King. “Just remember that our faith in the gods extends only our commitment to preserving that honor.”

“Very well. I suppose that’ll have to suffice,” said Poseidon.

“Since he won’t say it, I will – thank you, King Agesilaus,” said Hera, “And to show that the gods are still capable of generosity, I had Hephaestus prepare another gift. I heard you two discussing it yesterday and I made sure it was completed for this very moment.”

The Queen of the gods stepped back and cast a quick spell to retrieve something she stored on Olympus for this very occasion. From a greenish hue of light, a polished Spartan shield appeared in her arms. She then presented it to King Agesilaus III. As soon as he saw it, he accepted the shield and held it with pride.

It had the same shape and design as any Spartan shield. As one of their most defining weapons, Spartan warriors often took great pride in their shields. But this one took it a step further. It was composed of a polished, bronze-like metal that felt harder and smoother than any metal in the mortal world. However, what made it even more special was the symbol that had been etched in the center.

“Honor…valor…and hope,” said the Spartan king distantly as he grazed his hand over the shield.

These were all values that Spartans cherished as warriors, but the value of hope was by far the most precious. That’s what made the symbol so important. It was the same symbol that adorned Superman’s chest. Now it adorned his shield and would serve as the symbol for the Sons of Leuctra moving forward.

It filled the battle-hardened warrior with such pride. King Agesilaus III recalled asked him about this symbol shortly after Superman rescued him and his brothers. He said it was the symbol of his family, the House of El. He said it stood for hope. In any war, hope was always the first casualty. With the Sons of Leuctra seeking to build a new home and a new legacy, hope was their greatest tool and their greatest source of guidance.

“I won’t say it’s my son’s best work, but I will say it’s rather fitting. I suppose if you and your men going to aspire to something greater, you might as well follow a damn good example,” said Hera, who understood the meaning better than any of her fellow gods.

“It’s more than an example, Goddess Hera. It’s an inspiration,” said King Agesilaus III with a smile. “Thank you, on behalf of my brothers. I promise on my honor that the Sons of Leuctra will let this shield guide us.”

“And so long as you keep that promise, I’ll promise you that the gods will do their part,” said Hera with authority. “More importantly, Poseidon and I will see to it that the gods make the effort. Isn’t that right, Poseidon?”

“Of course we will,” said the King of the Seas, rolling his eyes at Hera’s glare.

This new way of doing things was still a work-in-progress for the gods. They had as much to rebuild as the Amazons and the Sons of Leuctra at this point. But that didn’t concern King Agesilaus III at this point. He accepted Hera’s promise with a much greater sense of hope than he ever had with Ares. He also proudly slipped his arm into the shield and held it up so that the light of the setting sun could reflect its glare for all to see.

It helped draw the attention of his brothers, just as the Spartan King had intended. They were all still plenty thrilled with their new home and being free of Ares’ treachery. But King Agesilaus III understood the challenges that lay ahead of them. He made sure his brothers understood as well.

“Hear me, brothers! Gather around your king as we make this island our own,” he proclaimed, quickly getting the attention of his men. “Look upon this shield. Look upon this gift of the gods and remember what lays before us…and what we lost to get here. The world of man and god has changed, but it still needs warriors – brave warriors willing to fight to their last breath for honor and glory. And what are Spartans if not warriors?”

His men answered by cheering together as one. None of them had forgotten who and what they were. No mortal, god, or beast could take that away from them. And they let their king know just how much they cherished it.

“For honor! For glory!” they cheered.

It filled King Agesilaus III’s heart with more pride. His smile grew as he looked out over his men. But he wasn’t finished just yet.

“We cannot bring back our families or our former home, but we can build a new future for ourselves,” the Spartan King continued. “We also cannot remain slaves to the passions that nearly destroyed us. We mustn’t forget that it was our misguided passion – our desire to do what was necessary and not what was just – that Ares exploited. We cannot…we will not make that mistake again.”

He then held the shield up a little higher, allowing its reflecting light to shine even brighter before his men.

“On this shield is a symbol of hope – a symbol that dares us to be better through honor rather than strength. As we rebuild our home, let this symbol be our guiding light. Let this hope lead us to greater glory. And may the Sons of Leuctra fight on in the spirit of honor, justice, and hope!”

“For honor! For justice! For hope!” his men repeated.

The men cheered more, this time with greater passion and strength than before. It helped reaffirm the unity and power of their brotherhood. Even Hera and Poseidon were impressed by their collective spirit. No matter how much they had lost or how badly they had been betrayed, they were still warriors. They were still going to keep fighting. But this time, they were going to fight in the spirit of hope.

* * *

**Skies Above New Sparta**

The echoes of the cheers from the Sons of Leuctra reverberated into the skies where Clark and Diana had been watching from afar. They hovered just below the clouds over the shores of the newly created island. Before they left this world of gods and demigods, they wanted to make sure that the Amazons and the Sons of Leuctra were in good hands. And for once, the gods had delivered. Themyscira was being rebuilt and the last of the Spartans had a new home. Their cheers and their choice of symbolism was an unexpected bonus. It gave Clark and Diana further assurance that they had done more than just triumph in battle.

“Looks like the Sons of Leuctra have a new home and you have some new fans,” said Diana.

“And the very loyal kind, at that,” said Superman as he listened to the cheers of the Spartan warriors. “I’m glad I made an impression on them, but I had no idea they would adopt my family seal as their new symbol.”

“Can you blame them? You make it so appealing,” she teased, affectionately placing her hand on it.

“I didn’t say I minded. In fact, I couldn’t be prouder. When I first became Superman, I learned early on that the hardest part isn’t winning the battles. It’s inspiring others to follow your lead. It’s one of those feats that can’t be accomplished through power and strength alone…although that doesn’t stop ambitious gods and men from trying.”

“And they both still fail while you succeed,” Diana reminded him.

“That’s what makes all the hardships so worth it,” he said. “On Krypton, it was one of our highest values. It was also the hardest to achieve. I’ve noticed it’s a lot harder here on Earth. Sometimes it feels downright impossible.”

“Yet you still succeeded. Be proud of that,” she told him.

“I am,” said Clark with a smile. “I inspired the Amazons. I inspired these men. I even managed to inspire the gods. That, more than anything, embodies the hope the House of El stands for.”

“I don’t disagree, but you’re still missing one important person from that list – namely the first person you inspired.”

Diana made the extent of his inspiration clear by pulling him into a strong embrace. It helped turn his attention away from the cheers on the shores to the beautiful woman hovering before him. In the light of the sunset, she looked so beautiful. She revealed so many of her strengths over the course of this struggle. She was a warrior, a visionary, a daughter, a lover, and even a demigoddess. The sheer breadth of this woman’s spirit made her all the more captivating. It was easy to forget at times that it all started with one chance encounter in their youth.

That fateful encounter had changed the course of their lives. It set Diana on a path that had been so arduous, straining her heart and her spirit in so many ways. Now, it had led her to this moment, alone with this incredible man that she had fallen so deeply in love with.

“Years ago – on that fateful day we first met – I had a feeling you were special,” said Diana affectionately. “I remember that moment so clearly. Your power and strength gave you so many choices, but you still chose to do what was right.”

“I remember it too. Was it really that long ago?” he said distantly.

“It doesn’t matter. It still inspired me in ways that made me a better warrior and a better woman.”

“I like to think you returned the favor. My life also changed a lot after we met. I might still be Superman, but I wouldn’t be as good a Superman.”

“You’d still good enough because your heart is just that strong. Mine wasn’t,” said Diana. “I only ever had doubts about the things my sisters taught me. I still needed someone to inspire me to be strong enough to follow my heart. And that’s exactly what you did for me, Kal – that and so much more.”

Her voice became more emotional. Looking into his eyes and his feeling his loving arms around her, she felt so many feelings. Everything she felt from that fateful day they first met to this moment converged, as though to complete something that began on that fateful moment she dared to have feelings for a man. It took all her warrior strength to not be overwhelmed by it, but she remained as strong as this man had inspired her to be.

“Just step back for a moment and look at what we accomplished here,” she went on. “When I first pitched the idea of reaching out to my mother and sisters, you were against it. I know you were.”

“I won’t deny it. I didn’t think much good could come of it,” Clark admitted.

“But you agreed to help me anyways. You trusted me to do what was necessary. You trusted me to survive and endure – just as I trusted you to do the right thing.”

“And we pulled through. It all turned out for the best. I’m not afraid to admit that you were right,” he said.

“I don’t care about being right this time. I care more about what it revealed in us. By trusting each other and doing the right thing, we took the hardest possible path. We fought, we struggled, and we suffered in ways we didn’t have to. There were plenty of moments where we could’ve made different choices, but we didn’t because they wouldn’t have been the right choices. And maybe we could’ve made them on our own without knowing each other. But by making them together…”

Diana’s words trailed off. For a moment, all the emotions she experienced over the course of this struggle overwhelmed her. She continued to embrace Clark for support and he didn’t dare let go. He then gently caressed the side of her face and smiled. There were so many feelings she wanted to convey, but he made clear to her that it wasn’t necessary. However, there were still some feelings she needed to convey after everything they had been through.

“Being with you and being in man’s world has taught me so many things,” she continued as more emotions flowed through her voice. “I can be a great warrior on my own. I can thrive in man’s world on my own. I can even hold my own in battles against gods and men who pretend their gods. But sharing all these experiences with someone I love – that fills me with a special kind of strength.”

“I know what you mean. I feel it too,” said Clark.

“And I guess what I’m trying to say is – before we dared to fight this battle, I knew I was in love with you. And I wasn’t afraid to admit that,” said Diana, “But to love someone isn’t the same as wanting to truly be with them. I’m not just talking about sharing a smile, a kiss, or a night in bed together. I’m talking about being with someone and wanting to share a future with them.”

She had to stop again, but not because it was too overwhelming. By conveying all these powerful feelings to him, Diana let him know just how precious he was to her. It made her feel stronger in so many ways. She even showed that strength, taking his hands in hers so that their fingers became entwined. This helped make all these powerful emotions feel complete.

“I _want_ to be with you, Kal. I _want_ that future,” she said strongly.

“I want to have that future too, Diana,” said Clark. “There’s no other woman – mortal, goddess, or demigoddess – that I would rather have with.”

“Well now that we’ve confronted the past, we can pursue that future…together. So let’s use what’s left of this day to make another fateful choice together. I’m ready if you’re ready.”

Diana made clear in the way she grasped his hands in hers just how ready she was for this moment. No man, god, or demigod would stand in her way. She had come too far as a warrior and as this man’s lover. Letting her emotions guide her, she pulled Clark in closer for a deep kiss that would’ve sealed their choice and their future.

However, just as their lips were about to touch, Clark released his grip on her hand and placed a finger between them. This surprised Diana at first, but the smile on Clark’s face kept her from worrying.

“Wait. There’s one more thing I want to show you before we take this step, Diana,” he told her.

“What is it?” asked Diana intently.

“Before I answer that, let me just ask this again – do you trust me?”

“Of course,” she said without hesitation. “You know I do. After what we went through today, I hope that would go without saying.”

“Just thought I should ask again anyway because I want you to stay here, close your eyes, and hold out your hands for a few moments.”

“That’s hardly the most unreasonable request you’ve ever made,” said Diana with a humored grin.

“That’s why I need you to trust me. I don’t think I’ll ever have a moment as perfect as this to do it.”

He sounded a bit overly excited, like he just came up with an idea that he hadn’t exactly thought fully through. Clark usually wasn’t prone to such impulses, but Diana chose to trust that he had a good reason this time.

“Okay,” said Diana. “I trust you, Kal. I’ll do what you need me to do.”

“Great!” said Clark intently. “Just give me a few seconds at the most. I promise it’ll make sense.”

Diana took a deep breath and did as he requested, closing her eyes and holding out her hands. Clark made sure she didn’t have to wait for very long. Using his super speed, he flew up high into suborbital space at speeds that left a sharp gust in its wake. Then, never decelerating beyond hypersonic speeds, he flew to his Fortress of Solitude at the North Pole where he activated a special access port on the roof and entered the crystalline structure. Once inside, he retrieved a small, opened box he had stored on his workbench. He paused for a millisecond to make sure its contents were ready before closing the box and flying back towards Diana.

The whole trip took no more than eight seconds. As soon as he appeared back in front of Diana, who remained still just as he had requested, Clark placed the box in her hands and opened it. He hadn’t intended to give this to her today, but he couldn’t think of a better way to show this woman how much she meant to him.

“Okay. Open your eyes,” Clark told her.

As soon as Diana complied, she was greeted with a sight that rendered her momentarily speechless. Within this box lay a familiar object that carried with it a very special meaning. She thought it had been lost forever, but once again this man found a way to set himself apart from man and god alike.

“Oh Kal,” she gasped. “Is…is this what I think it is.”

“That and a little more,” said Clark proudly.

Diana’s hands trembled as she reached into the box and held the object within her hand. In doing so, she once again recalled the fateful day her fate became entwined with his.

On that day, Diana initially greeted Clark with hostility. However, he went to great lengths to prove that he was different from the men she had been conditioned to despise. To prove himself, he used the sand on the shores of Themyscira and his heat vision to forge glass sphere with the S-shaped emblem of his family etched within. He presented it to her both as a demonstration of his power and as a peace offering. It ended up becoming one of Diana’s most cherished possessions because for the years after their encounter, it was the only tangible relic of their encounter that remained. And when her mother destroyed it in a fit of outrage, it struck her in ways that eventually led to her fateful decision to leave Themyscira.

She thought that relic had been lost forever, but now she was holding it in her hands again. However, this one was different than the one from before. It had the same shape, size, and color as the first, but the emblem etched on it was different. It still had the distinct S-shaped seal of the House of El, but it also had an etching of the W-shaped emblem that adorned her breastplate. Both symbols had been merged to create a single unit. The symbolism was not lost on Diana. It sent a clear, powerful message that evoked a fresh round of overwhelming emotions.

“I remember you telling me how upset you were when your mother broke the old one so I thought I’d make you a new one,” said Clark, smiling as his lover admired his handiwork. “I used sand from another Greek island and mixed it with a spare Kryptonian crystal. Nobody will be breaking this one. That, you can be sure of.”

“The symbol…” said Diana distantly, still in a state of shock.

“Was a little something else I decided to add,” he said in a more affectionate tone as he drew her back into his embrace. “We often talk about how our fates became entwined after we met on that beach years ago. Well given all we’ve been through, I think it’s safe to say our fates are destined to stay entwined. Whether we’re Superman or Wonder Woman – Clark Kent or Diana Prince – Kal-El or Princess Diana – I love you. And whatever fate may lead us in the future, I’m ready to face it together.”

“Together,” was all Diana could say in response.

Tears formed in her eyes as she felt her lover’s powerful arms around her once more. She continued gazing at the glass sphere that now bore her emblem and that of her lover’s. It was like a tangible sign that she was destined to love this man and he was destined to love her.

When Diana finally looked up to meet her lover’s gaze, there was no more hesitation. She threw her arms around his neck, never letting go of the globe in the process, and captured his lips in a passionate kiss. With the light of the setting sun in the background, she and Clark shared an intimate moment that signaled the end of one arduous journey and the beginning of another. It effectively sealed their fate together, preserving the love and trust they had forged together through so much hardship.

They had once been two young strangers, lost and full of doubt in an increasingly chaotic world. Then, through an act of fate, their paths crossed and they forged a connection that forever altered the course of their lives. Yet from the challenges and struggles they endured, Diana and Kal-El forged a special bond. Through the love and passion that brought them together, they showed that even in a world full of petty gods and corrupt mortals, the greatest strength came from a loving heart.

* * *

**Epilogue**

In the months that followed the crisis on Themyscira, a new order took shape for the Amazons and the Sons of Leuctra. Hippolyta reestablished her role as Regent, leading the rebuilding efforts while the Amazon Court established a new range of powers. During this transition period, Hera and the rest of her fellow gods rebuilt Mount Olympus’ defenses and were able to contain most of the chaos until the Amazons and the Sons of Leuctra were ready to participate in battle once more.

In addition to rebuilding, the first major challenge of the new order was establishing a peaceful relationship with the Sons of Leuctra. While many Amazons remained suspicious about fighting alongside male warriors, Hippolyta and others on the Amazon Court convinced them that they needed to make a concerted effort to trust men again.

This led to the first major ruling of the Amazon Court, which partially nullified the sentence imposed on Hessia. While she could not regain her immortality, she was allowed to travel to and from Themyscira as she pleased. As a condition of this ruling, she was to act as Themyscira’s liaison to New Sparta. Her experiences in man’s world helped her create a foundation for a new partnership between the Amazons and the Spartans.

The strength of this partnership showed when they began taking part in skirmishes within Tartarus again. While the two tribes kept their distance at first, fighting alongside one another helped slowly bridge the divide. It even got to a point where some Amazons and Spartans began to intermingle, leading Hera lay the groundwork for new policies on marriage and child-rearing among the two tribes.

As this new order took shape in the realm of the gods, Clark and Diana established their own new order back home. Shortly after returning from Themyscira, Diana was promoted by the Red Cross to a top position that allowed her to move from London to Metropolis. This led to her and Clark moving in together, sharing a condominium in a building not far from the Daily Planet.

Shortly after they began living together, the Earth was invaded by the armies of Darkseid and Apokalipse. Clark and Diana naturally found themselves on the front lines of this conflict as Superman and Wonder Woman. This led them to cross paths with other heroes such as Batman, Green Lantern, Aquaman, the Flash, and Cyborg. By working together, they were able to defeat the invasion. And in wake of the global response to their heroics, they formed the Justice League to help protect the world from future threats.

As their professional lives evolved, their personal lives grew as well. Jonathan Carroll proposed to Lois Lane shortly after they both won an award for breaking the story on Helion Solar. The wedding was a small, private affair in which Diana served as Lois’ Maid of Honor and Clark served as a groomsman. Less than a week after this wedding, Clark proposed to Diana and she accepted without hesitation.

They ended up having two ceremonies. First, they had one as civilians where they invited friends and co-workers. Then, they had another one on Themyscira where Hera herself presided over the ceremony with both the Amazons and the Sons of Leuctra present. It was a joyous occasion and one that further strengthened the love they shared. Together, they served as an example for mortals and gods alike just how powerful love could be. Secure in this bond and the strength it gave them, Clark and Diana moved forward in a shared future where their love guided them against the forces of chaos and injustice.

* * *

**THE END**

**AN: This marks the end of my first DC story and my first Superman/Wonder Woman story. From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank everybody who took the time to read and review it. This was a challenging story to write and not just because I had never written a Justice League story before. Fans of Superman, Wonder Woman, and their relationship are a passionate bunch and I wanted this story to do justice to all those fans. Such wonderful support helped make this story great. I really appreciate it.**

**I hope the success and response from this story will inspire others like it. But as always, I strongly encourage everybody to provide feedback by posting reviews on this site or contacting me directly. Thanks again to everybody who has supported this story and my other stories. Until next time, take care and best wishes!**

**MarvelMaster616**


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